Halfway through the season, things haven’t gone quite according to plan for UCLA football. But, in the eyes of Sports Illustrated, blame for that doesn’t rest on the shoulders of redshirt senior inside linebacker Eric Kendricks.
Kendricks was named a second-team midseason All-American by Sports Illustrated Wednesday, UCLA’s sole representative and one of 13 Pac-12 players on the list. The linebackers who beat him out for the four first-team spots are Mississippi State junior Bernardrick McKinney, Oklahoma junior Eric Striker, Washington junior Shaq Thompson and Arizona sophomore Scooby Wright III.
Through six games, Kendricks has 68 total tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception returned for a touchdown, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Nationally, he ranks No. 4 in solo tackles and No. 10 in total tackles per game.
Prior to the season, Kendricks was named to several award watch lists, including the Rotary Lombari Award, Chuck Bendarik Award, Bronco Nagurski Award, Dick Butkus Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy. Kendricks has been named the Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week twice this season.
Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.