UVA’s Reed honored as first-team All-American kick returner

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia senior kick returner Joe Reed was named to the Walter Camp All-America team during the ESPN/Home Depot College Football Award Show. The Walter Camp Foundation made the announcement Thursday at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga. Reed is a first-team All-America selection.

Reed (Charlotte Court House, Va.) was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award and currently leads the nation with a 34.7 kick return average. On deep kickoffs to inside the five-yard line, Reed has returned 13 kicks for an average of 41.5 yards per kickoff return.

He is the only player in the nation with 22 or fewer kick returns to go with 700+ kick return yards. The versatile Reed has 70 receptions and 627 receiving yards to go with six touchdown. He is the only player in the nation with 600+ receiving yards (627) and 600+ kick return yards (764).

The Walter Camp All-America team, the nation’s oldest college football All-America squad, is in its 130th year honoring the nation’s best college football players. Reed is the 14th Cavalier all-time to be recognized on the Walter Camp All-America team and gives UVA a Walter Camp All-American three seasons in a row.

Last year CB Bryce Hall was named a second-team All-American by Walter Camp, while in 2017 FS Quin Blanding and ILB Micah Kiser also earned second-team honors. Reed is the first Cavalier to earn first-team All-America honors by the Walter Camp Foundation since 2007 when Chris Long did so.

Reed is one of three ACC players named to the first-team and one of six overall to be named to the 2019 Walter Camp Foundation All-America team.

Previously, Reed was named a first-team All-American by CBS Sports, a second-team All-American by SI.com, while also earning first-team All-ACC honors as an all-purpose player and kick return specialist. He also was named the Touchdown Club of Richmond’s Specialist of the Year.