Six Hoos listed on Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong, DL Chico Bennett Jr., WR Billy Kemp IV, LB Nick Jackson, DB Anthony Johnson and WR Keytaon Thompson were all included on the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List, released on Wednesday.

A total of 484 seniors were featured on the game’s initial list. Every player on this list is eligible to participate in an all-star game as either a 2018 high school graduate or true four-year player (with five or more games played in three previous seasons).

The Reese’s Senior Bowl is widely regarded as the preeminent college football all-star game and the first stage in the NFL Draft process. The longest continual-running all-star game has taken place in Mobile, Alabama the past 73 years. The Cavaliers have had a participant in the Reese’s Senior Bowl Game 11 of the last 13 years.

The 2023 Senior Bowl is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala. The game will be aired live on NFL Network at 1:30 p.m. CT.

Armstrong is up for a bevy of preseason accolades including the Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien Award, and the Manning Award after his record-setting junior campaign. The Cavalier signal caller threw for 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns while accumulating 4,700 yards of total offense, all UVA single season records. He averaged 404.4 yards passing per game, the most ever in a single season by a UVA quarterback and was just 145 yards shy of breaking the league’s single season passing record in just 11 games played.

Bennett is seeking his first action as a Cavalier this fall after transferring to UVA from Georgia Tech prior to the 2021 season. With the Yellow Jackets he led all freshman GT tacklers with 17 and had 0.5 tackles for loss in 2019 before suffering an injury.

Kemp is coming off a career year for UVA, hauling in 74 passes for 725 yards and six touchdowns. The Highland Springs, Va. native has caught a pass in 27-straight games dating back to the 2019 season, tied for the sixth-longest streak in the nation entering the 2022 season. Kemp earned Third Team All-ACC honors for the first time in his career.

Jackson was the ACC’s top tackler in 2021, totaling 117 stops and was credited with 2.5 sacks in 12 games. He recorded six tackles for loss, broke up two passes and had six quarterback hurries. Jackson’s 9.8 tackles per game also led the ACC and were the 14th most in the country. The Atlanta, Ga. native went on to earn Second Team All-ACC honors for the second year in-a-row.

Johnson, a transfer from Louisville prior to the 2021 season, made an immediate impact on the Cavalier secondary last year. Pro Football Focus listed him as a Third Team All-ACC selection after ranking seventh in the ACC in interceptions with three and eighth in passes broken up with nine. He played in all 12 games and was fifth on the team with 44 tackles.