MINNEAPOLIS – Former Tennessee running back Alvin Kamara added to his growing list of awards on Saturday night at the seventh annual NFL Honors held at the University of Minnesota when he was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press.
Kamara joins Carl Pickens as the only Tennessee Volunteers to win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Pickens won the award in 1992 as a standout wide receiver and punt returner for the Cincinnati Bengals. VFLs Jerod Mayo (2008, New England Patriots) and Dale Carter (1992, Kansas City Chiefs) are the only Vols to win the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honor.
In addition to winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, Kamara was named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year by a fan vote on Friday. Kamara also was selected for the Pro Bowl, named Pepsi Rookie of the Week seven times, collected Second Team All-Pro honors, grabbed Rookie of the Year accolades from the Sporting News and was tabbed the Co-Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America.
Kamara, who played for the Vols in 2015 and 2016, helped lead the New Orleans Saints to the playoffs in 2017 by tallying 728 rushing yards, 81 receptions, 826 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns. He averaged 7.7 yards per touch to set an NFL record among players with at least 200 touches and led the league with 6.1 yards per carry. He joined Gale Sayers (1965) as the only rookies in NFL history to total five rushing touchdowns, five receiving touchdowns and a kick return score.
He was selected in the third round (No. 67 overall) by the Saints in the 2017 NFL Draft following two standout seasons with the Volunteers. At UT, Kamara collected 1,294 rushing yards, 683 receiving yards and 300 yards on special teams. He reached the end zone 13 times in 2016 alone for a total of 24 touchdowns. Kamara also recorded four games of 100 rushing yards or more. He finished his career at Tennessee averaging 94.9 all-purpose yards per game.
