Virginia’s Joe Reed named to 2018 Paul Hornung Award Watch List

The Louisville Sports Commission on Thursday released the 2018 Paul Hornung Award Watch List, which names the 43 players they’re keeping an eye on as this year’s most versatile college players. The Virginia Cavaliers’ Joe Reed is among those recognized, his first preseason award watch list honors of the year.

In 2017, Reed returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, setting a UVA single-season record. The first was a 92-yard kick return against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets en route to a 40-36 victory. The second came in the opening player of the Military Bowl, returning Navy’s kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown en route to a...never mind.

Reed’s two kick returns for touchdowns ranked the best in the ACC and fifth best in the nation. He also finished ranked best in the conference and eighth in the nation with 29.7 yards per kick return.

As a wide receiver, Reed caught 23 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He also amassed 112 yards and another touchdown on 21 carries. Among those catches was this 75-yard touchdown reception against No. 2 Miami.

The watch list will continue to evolve along with the season. The Virginia Cavaliers kick off their 2018 campaign on September 1 against Richmond at 6:00 p.m. Until then, here’s the only play worth watching from last year’s Military Bowl.