Kentucky Tight End Josh Kattus on Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List

Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winner and University of Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel, who turned his football success into a lifelong mission of service, the award reflects his legacy of leadership and humanitarianism. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the trophy’s founding.

Kattus, a native of Cincinnati, is a leader on and off the field, especially when it comes to community service initiatives.

The past two years, he has volunteered to participate in the “Dancing with the Lexington Stars” event. In 2024, he helped raise more than $34K for the Lexington Rotary Club Endowment Fund and Surgery on Sunday, a nonprofit that provides essential outpatient procedures at no cost to income-eligible individuals who are either uninsured or under-insured and do not qualify for federal or state assistance. In 2025, he helped raise close to $11K for Baby Health Services and the Rotary Club of Lexington’s scholarship and service initiatives. Baby Health Services provides free, quality preventative and primary healthcare to the uninsured children of Central Kentucky from birth through age 18.

He also is a weekly volunteer at the Kentucky Children’s Hospital, specifically at the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology Oncology Clinic, where he visits with sick children, plays games or just hangs out.

Additionally, he has volunteered at Lexington’s Ronald McDonald House and at the Scott County Humane Society, helping find foster homes for pets and raising awareness of fostering.

“Josh has been such a positive light to pediatric cancer and blood disorder patients in the DanceBlue Clinic,” Jordan Heflin, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology RN at the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology Oncology Clinic said. “He is a very consistent volunteer, coming almost every Tuesday for the past three years. He is always happy to sit and play with a kid, sign an autograph, or take a picture. I am amazed at his commitment to bringing joy to these patients. Josh is a great football player, but I believe that he is an even better guy. I am so thankful that he continues to give back to these patients. A lot of the kids can’t go out to football games because of their treatments, but at least when they watch on TV, they can say that they know No. 84.”

Kattus has been recognized for his extensive community involvement—he was named to the SEC Community Service Team last season, was a finalist for the Pop Warner College Football Award, inducted into the University of Kentucky’s prestigious Frank G. Ham Society of Character, and is currently a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.

On the field, the three-year letter winner has played in 33 games with 15 starting assignments and has totaled 21 receptions for 310 yards and five touchdowns in his Wildcat career.

Kattus is on track to graduate in December with a degree in communication and an undergraduate certificate in business. When he’s not in class, he represents UK Football on the UK Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), is a member of the SEC Football Leadership Council, and represents the SEC on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee’s Student-Athlete Connection Group.

For the second consecutive year, the Wuerffel Foundation is partnering with Allstate to unite college football’s top community service honors through the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®. Eleven student athletes from the Watch List will be named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and serve as semifinalists for the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy.

The 2025 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy finalists and recipient will be selected by a national voting committee, with input from a fan vote. The 2025 recipient will also serve as Captain of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards show on December 12th, airing on ESPN. The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Presentation Gala will follow on January 31, 2026, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.