Senior cornerback recognized for community service, athletic and academic achievement
TAMPA, July 23, 2020 – Senior USF cornerback and Tampa native KJ Sails has been named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, joining a list of national standouts considered for the award recognizing community service, athletic and academic achievement.
Sails organized a unity walk in downtown Tampa in early June that led nearly 400 participants clad in black on a reflective and educational march through the Central Park Village neighborhood to the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church to highlight the quest for social justice and positive change. Sails has also been regularly involved in other community service projects during his time at USF.
Heading into his senior campaign, and second at USF after transferring from North Carolina. The cornerback earned second-team all-conference postseason honors in 2019 as he led the Bulls with five takeaways and three interceptions while finishing 15th in the conference with nine passes defended and tallying 42 tackles. Sails also returned 12 punts for 117 yards in his first season on the field for USF. His 9.8 yards per return average would have ranked second in the conference, but he was just shy of having enough returns to qualify.
Sails was named a preseason first team all-conference selection by Athlon Sports and earned second team recognition as a cornerback and fourth team as a punt returner from Phil Steele.
The Bulls are slated to open the 2020 campaign at preseason top 15 ranked Texas on Sept. 5. If preseason rankings hold, it will mark the highest ranked opening opponent in program history. The Bulls opened the 2019 campaign by falling to No. 19/17 Wisconsin in Tampa and won, 23-20, at No. 16/18 Notre Dame to open the 2011 season in the two others times USF has started a season versus a ranked foe.
About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23rd season (20th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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