LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky junior wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was named to the All-Bowl Team by the USA Today, it was announced Wednesday. The dazzling playmaker was named Most Valuable Player in the Wildcats’ 20-17 victory over No. 15 Iowa in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl.
Robinson was the best player on the field in Orlando, setting UK bowl records with 10 receptions for 170 yards and putting the Cats on his back in the late stages as they surged back for the win. He accounted for 86 yards on the game-winning drive, including a 17-yard catch over the middle on 3rd-and-10 where he absorbed a huge hit upon hauling in the pass and a 52-yard catch-and-run that stunned the Hawkeyes.
On the 52-yarder, Robinson caught a perfectly placed ball from quarterback Will Levis, turned it up the sideline, juked a defender near the 20-yard line, received a sprinting block from Rahsaan Lewis and side-stepped another defender before being knocked down at the 1-yard line. Chris Rodriguez Jr. punched in the game-winning score on the next play.
Robinson, a 5-foot-10, 183-pounder from Frankfort, Kentucky, was one of the most electric players to ever come through the Kentucky football program. The transfer from Nebraska caught a team-high 104 passes and had 1,334 receiving yards, setting new UK single-season records. Although he has played only one season at UK, he ranks 17th in school history in receiving yardage.
He became the sixth player in SEC history to catch at least 100 passes in a season, including Mississippi State’s Makai Polk this season. Robinson had six 100-yard games which ranks second on UK’s single-season list. He joins Randall Cobb as the only two receivers in school history to have 12 or more receptions in multiple games during their career.
Robinson was an All-SEC First Team selection by PFF and a second-team All-SEC choice by the league’s coaches.
Postseason Awards for Robinson:
USA Today All-Bowl Team
Second-Team All-America (PFF)
First-Team All-SEC (PFF)
Second-Team All-SEC (Coaches, AP)
