West Virginia's Tykee Smith Named a Semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award

Monday afternoon, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame announced the 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the best defensive back in the country. West Virginia sophomore Tykee Smith was one of the eight nominees from the Power Five conferences.

The 12 semifinalists include:

Bubba Bolden - Miami (FL)

Jalen Catalon - Arkansas

Kaiir Elam - Florida

Richie Grant - Central Florida

Allie Green IV- Tulsa

Shemar Jean-Charles - Appalachian State

Brandon Joseph - Northwestern

Trevon Moehrig - TCU

Tykee Smith - West Virginia

Patrick Surtain II - Alabama

Shaun Wade - Ohio State

James Wiggins - Cincinnati

The three finalists for the award will be announced on December 22nd, in conjunction with ESPN. The winner of the award will be announced on January 7th, 2021 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show Presented by Gildan.

In nine games this season, Tykee Smith has registered 61 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two interceptions, and five pass breakups. Heading into week 13, Smith was the second highest graded defensive back by Pro Football Focus with an 85.3 grade.

Highest-graded CBs heading into Wk13
1⃣ Patrick Surtain II, Alabama - 87.9
2⃣ Tykee Smith, WVU - 85.3
3⃣ Shemar Jean-Charles, App St - 83.8
4⃣ Marcus Jones, Houston - 83.7 pic.twitter.com/fOJSIj7EDt
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 27, 2020

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