Kyle Philips earns spot on Paul Hornung Award Watch List
Another top Bruin pass-catcher is getting some buzz this summer.
Receiver Kyle Philips represented UCLA football as one of the 57 players named to the Paul Hornung Award Watch List early Thursday morning. The award for most versatile player in the country has never gone to a Bruin since it was introduced in 2010 – Myles Jack got the closest by finishing as a finalist in 2013, while Demetric Felton and Darnay Holmes were on the preseason watch list the past two seasons.
Philips' experience and success as a wideout put him on the map in 2019, when he went from redshirting his freshman season to leading UCLA with 60 receptions, 681 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns the next. That success spilled over into 2020 as well, leading his team with 38 receptions while also averaging 10 yards per carry on the ground.
His sample size as a ball-carrier – five career touches – is too small for him to earn a spot on the Hornung Award watch list just based on his receiving and rushing alone. Philips' punt returning skills are why he's regarded as a versatile threat, considering he's been on the receiving end of 16 punts over the course of his career and turned them into an average return of 18.3 yards and one touchdown.
That one touchdown was a 69-yarder in UCLA's historic 32-point comeback win over Washington State, with Philips' fourth-quarter return being the play that gave the Bruins their first lead since early in the second quarter.
Since he didn't make it into the end zone on special teams in 2020, Philips' biggest moment as a punt returner was actually when he fumbled on the first drive of the season against Colorado, leading directly to the Buffaloes' first points of the night. Should Philips get back to building upon his 2019 success, however, he can certainly justify his spot on the Hornung Award watch list.
Philips was also named to the preseason All-Pac-12 First Team Offense on Tuesday, the Bruins' lone member on either of the first teams.
The preseason honors in Philips' pocket put him right alongside tight end Greg Dulcich, who has been named to the John Mackey Award watch list and the preseason All-Pac-12 Second Team Offense in the past week as well.
And with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson making the Maxwell Award and Davey O'Brien Award watch lists over a week ago, UCLA will boast its most well-regarded offense of the Chip Kelly era when it kicks off the season in just under a month.
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