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.