The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and the Jim Thorpe Foundation tabbed UF junior cornerback Kaiir Elam as one of 40 players on the 2021 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List on Monday.
The Thorpe Award goes to the nation’s top defensive back and also takes candidates’ character into account. Elam was a semifinalist for the 2020 addition of the award.
The award committee will announce the semifinalists on Oct. 25 and will select three finalists on the Monday of Thanksgiving week. A panel of more than 250 sports writers, former players and coaches will vote to decide the winner, which will be announced as part of ESPN’s Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 9
Elam was previously named to the watchlist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player, and to the media’s All-SEC First Team.
He enters the 2021 season with some mock drafts having him being selected among the top-10 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. He started all 12 games in 2020 and recorded 39 tackles, two interceptions, 11 pass breakups, one tackle-for-loss and one fumble recovery.
The SEC’s coaches selected him to the All-SEC First Team after the season, while the Associated Press named him to the second team.