Kentucky senior linebacker Josh Allen may need to build another mantle to display his trophies.
Allen was named the 2018 recipient of the Jack Lambert Award on Monday night. The trophy is distributed annually by the Touchdown Club of Columbus (Ohio) and presented to the national linebacker of the year.
Allen’s triumph represented the first time that a Kentucky linebacker won the award.
Winning awards is nothing new for Allen, who recently claimed the Lott IMPACT Trophy as the college defensive player having the biggest influence on his team.
Allen received that award from former Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott. The honor goes to a player with strong academic work, community involvement and team leadership.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Allen already had won the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player.
The Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Allen said he will play in Kentucky’s upcoming Citrus Bowl against Penn State on Jan. 1 before continuing his career in the NFL.
Allen recorded 14 of his 28.5 career sacks in 2018. His 11 career forced fumbles are even with former Wildcat and current Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan.
Allen led Kentucky with 84 tackles and paces the SEC in sacks, tackles for loss (18.5) and forced fumbles (five).
