Kentucky OL Malachi Wood tabbed to SEC All-Freshman Team

Kentucky offensive tackle Malachi Wood was tabbed to the 2024 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Football Team, the league office announced on Thursday.

Voted onto the team by SEC head coaches, Wood appeared in 11 games for the Wildcats as a redshirt freshman in 2024. Primarily serving as right tackle while also playing a role on special teams, the 6-foot-8, 320-pound lineman started the final five games for Kentucky and totaled 352 snaps on the season. According to UK, Wood accumulated 25 blocks at the point of attack, seven knockdown blocks, and only one missed assignment.

A native of Richmond, KY, and graduate of Madison Central, Wood was a three-star recruit out of the 2023 recruiting class. He expects to play an even larger role in 2025 on Kentucky’s offensive line.

Congrats to @_BIGMAL_67 who has been named to the All-@SEC Freshman Team.

📰🔗 – https://t.co/zMk5ai1391 pic.twitter.com/ofierckVPC

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) December 12, 2024

AP announces All-SEC Teams

17 media members who cover the SEC voted on this season’s AP All-SEC Teams, which were announced on Wednesday and included four Wildcats.

On the All-SEC First Team, Alex Raynor cracked the list as a kicker while Barion Brown (who has since entered the transfer portal and is trending toward LSU) was nominated as the all-purpose athlete. Raynor was previously named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year, as well.

The All-SEC Second Team consisted of a pair of players on defense: defensive tackle Deone Walker and cornerback Maxwell Hairston. Hairston was selected despite only appearing in five games throughout the 2024 season due to injury.

Raynor, Brown, and Walker also made the coaches’ All-SEC Teams that were announced earlier this week, as did center Eli Cox.