Deone Walker, Barion Brown named to All-American Teams

For reasons that we still don’t understand, Deone Walker was inexplicably left off the Coaches’ All-SEC Team that was announced on Tuesday. And yet, the Kentucky defensive lineman was tabbed to an All-American Team just a couple of days prior.

Walker and his Kentucky teammate, wide receiver Barion Brown, were both named to the College Football Network All-American Teams released on Sunday. Walker cracked the All-American Defense Third-Team while Brown made the All-American Specialists Third-Team. Additionally, two more Wildcats were listed by the College Football Network as All-American Honorable Mentions: RB Ray Davis and CB Maxwell Hairston.

Also this week, all four of Walker (First-Team Defense), Brown (Second-Team Offense), Davis (First-Team Offense), and Hairston (Second-Team Defense) were named All-SEC performers by the Associated Press. Again, despite all of these accolades, Walker was somehow left off the Coaches’ All-SEC Teams, although Brown, Davis, Hairston, and offensive lineman Eli Cox were at least recognized.

Brown picked up another significant honor this week, too. On Wednesday morning, CBS Sports named Brown a Second-Team All-American as a kick returner after the sophomore speedster took two kickoff returns to the house for touchdowns during the 2023 season — the first in the season-opener against Ball State and the second in the regular season finale against Louisville. Brown ranked first in the SEC and second in the nation in yards per kickoff return at 31.7.

Kentucky still has one more game to play before closing out the 2023 season for good. The Wildcats (7-5) will head to the 79th TaxSlayer Gator Bowl for a matchup against No. 22 Clemson (8-4) on Friday, Dec. 29 in Jacksonville, FL. Kickoff is set for noon EST and will be broadcast on ESPN.