D'Shawn Jamison Named to Paul Hornung Award Watch List

Junior DB D’Shawn Jamison is a candidate for the award which honors college football’s most versatile player.

Texas Football junior DB D’Shawn Jamison was named to the preseason watch list for the Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse, the Louisville Sports Commission announced Thursday.

Jamison, a Houston native, is a third-year defensive back who has played in 26 career games with 10 starts. Last year, Jamison played in all 13 games and started nine times. He recorded 35 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Two of his interceptions came on the road at West Virginia, including a highlight-reel one-handed grab that was the No. 1 play on SportsCenter’s ‘Top 10 plays’ that night (Oct. 5, 2019). He tallied a career-high nine tackles (eight solo), intercepted a pass and logged one quarterback hurry against Kansas State.

On special teams, Jamison is one of only five Longhorns to return both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown during his career. He returned a kickoff 98 yards late in the fourth quarter of a road win over Rice last season and a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown on the road against Kansas State in 2018. He continued to show his return skills later in the 2019 campaign, recovering a blocked PAT and returning it 90-plus yards for a defensive two-point conversion against Kansas.

Jamison was recruited to Texas as a defensive back in the Longhorns’ 2018 signing class, but converted to wide receiver for his freshman campaign before returning to the secondary in 2019. As a true freshman receiver, Jamison played in 13 games, made four catches and carried the ball four times.

In addition to his place on the Hornung Award watch list, Jamison was chosen to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team last week. He was also named a first-team All-Big 12 preseason selection by Phil Steele as a defensive back, as well as a second-team punt returner and a third-team kick returner.

The Hornung Award, created and first awarded in 2010, is named for Paul Hornung, the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner at Notre Dame and NFL MVP for the Green Bay Packers. Each week during the season, a panel of college football experts selects players for the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll based on performance. A national selection committee comprised of sports journalists and former NFL stars will vote for the Hornung Award finalists and eventually decide the award’s 2020 recipient.