LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Sports Commission announced Thursday morning that Tennessee redshirt senior wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. is one of 57 college football players selected to the watch list for the 2021 Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse.

The Paul Hornung Award is given annually by the Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) to the most versatile player in major college football. The honor is named for former Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung, winner of the 1956 Heisman Trophy and No. 1 pick in the 1957 NFL Draft.

A versatile receiver and dynamic return specialist, Jones enters his second season on Rocky Top and sixth at the collegiate level this fall. The 6-0, 200-pound wideout is UT’s leading returner from the 2020 campaign in receptions (22), receiving yards (280) and receiving touchdowns (3). The Saraland, Alabama, native notably ranks first among active Division I FBS career leaders with 2,345 kickoff return yards.

Jones made an immediate impact for the Vols last season, playing in all 10 games and starting the final six games of the year. His top performance came against Vanderbilt with a career-best seven catches, 125 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. In addition to his production at receiver, Jones led the SEC in kickoff return yards (398) and was second in the league in kickoff return average (22.11).

Prior to Tennessee, Jones spent four seasons at Southern California where he earned All-Pac-12 honors as a return specialist each year from 2017-19. He finished his USC career second in school history in kickoff return yards (1,947) and owns a share of the program record for longest kickoff return with a 100-yard house call against Fresno State on Aug. 31, 2019.

After the completion of week 12 in the regular season, LSC staff will provide a list of candidates to the Paul Hornung Award Selection Committee that will be narrowed down to three finalists on Nov. 17. The winner will be formally announced Dec. 8, with the award officially presented at a banquet in March 2022.

For more information on the Paul Hornung Award, visit louisvillesports.org.

-UT Athletics

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes announced Wednesday that local 7-foot prospect Handje Tamba (pronounced: AHN-jay TAHM-buh) has reclassified to the Class of 2021, signed with the University of Tennessee and will enroll next month.

Originally a member of the Class of 2022, Tamba—an elite academic performer who plans to major in biology with aspirations to pursue medical studies—will be a freshman for the Volunteers this season.

“Handje is a rim protector who can block and alter shots, and he plays with a ton of energy,” Barnes said. “He has the potential to become a strong rebounder, and he moves well for a player of his size who has only been playing basketball for four years. He’s going to provide added stability for our interior defense.”

As a junior last season at Knoxville Catholic High School, Tamba—who emigrated from Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017—averaged 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. He scored 22 points in a win over then-undefeated Bearden High School on Dec. 10, 2020. He went on to earn DII-AA All-State acclaim from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association and All-PrepXtra second-team honors from the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tamba helped lead the Irish to the 2020 TSSAA Division II-AA state championship as a sophomore.

Tamba, who speaks fluent French, played his AAU ball with the BMaze Elite program, founded by former Tennessee point guard Bobby Maze (2008-10).

Tamba joins a Tennessee basketball 2021 signing class that includes freshmen Jonas Aidoo, Kennedy Chandler, Quentin Diboundje, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Jahmai Mashack along with incoming Auburn transfer Justin Powell.

-UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee had a pair of specialists named to preseason watch lists for national awards on Wednesday.

Redshirt senior kicker Chase McGrath was one of 30 players named to the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award preseason watch list, while senior punter Paxton Brooks was one of 51 candidates named to the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award.

McGrath, a graduate transfer from the University of Southern California, will compete to be the Vols’ starting place-kicker this fall after a successful stint with the Trojans. The Newport Beach, California, native was a three-year starter at USC, appearing in 30 games while connecting on 32-of-42 field goal attempts (76.2 percent) during his career, including a career-long make of 52 yards (2019). McGrath was also 118-of-119 in point after attempts and enters this season having made 70 in a row.

McGrath’s best season at USC came in 2019 when he appeared in 13 games and hit 14-of-17 field goals while converting all 54 of his PATs to earn All-PAC-12 honorable mention honors. He was also named the Trojan’s Special Teams Player of the Year.

The Lou Groza Award honors the top place-kicker in college football each season and is named for National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou “The Toe” Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns.

The award list will be narrowed down to 20 semifinalists on Thursday, Nov. 4. From that list, a panel of more than 100 FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists and current NFL kickers selects the top three finalists for the award, which will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 23. That same group then selects the national winner, who will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 9 during the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.

The complete preseason watch list for the 2021 Lou Groza Award can be seen HERE.

Brooks enters his senior season as one of the nation’s top punters. The Lexington, South Carolina, native has played in 35 games for the Vols, averaging 42.9 yards per punt for his career with 19 having traveled 50-plus yards and 29 having been pinned inside the 20.

Brooks is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District recipient. He will wear the SEC graduate patch this fall after graduating in May. Brooks served as Tennessee’s starting punter in all 10 games last season while also handling kickoff duties and earned All-SEC fourth team accolades from Phil Steele. His 43.6 yards per punt ranked fourth in the SEC.

Brooks was named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week on Oct. 13 after a career-best performance against No. 3 Georgia where he averaged 47.2 yards per boot on six attempts – including two of 50-plus yards – and landed three punts inside the 20.

The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to the nation’s top punter. In mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists, who will be announced on Nov. 10. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) SIDs, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on Nov. 23. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation’s top punter. The winner will be announced live during the Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN on Dec. 9.

The complete preseason watch list for the 2021 Ray Guy Award can be seen HERE.

Tennessee opens its 2021 season on Thursday, Sept. 2 at home against Bowling Green at 8 p.m. on the SEC Network. Tickets can be purchased at AllVols.com.

-UT Athletics

At Tennessee’s pre-fall practice press conference, defensive back Theo Jackson spoke to the media about the start of practice.

At Tennessee’s pre-fall practice press conference, punter Paxton Brooks spoke to the media about the start of practice.