Benkert, Brown and Kiser Headed to Senior Bowl

Nov. 29, 2017

Charlottesville, Va. – Three members of the Virginia football team have accepted invitations to participate in the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl. That group includes quarterback Kurt Benkert (Cape Coral, Fla.), defensive end Andrew Brown (Chesapeake, Va.) and linebacker Micah Kiser (Baltimore, Md.). This year’s Senior Bowl is scheduled for Jan. 27 in Mobile, Ala., at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will be televised by the NFL Network.

This year, Benkert threw for 3,062 yards to set the Virginia single-season passing record. He finished the regular season with 25 touchdown passes, which is tied for first place in the ACC individual statistics. He became the first UVA quarterback to throw for more than 20 touchdowns in multiple seasons. He had 21 touchdown passes as a junior. He set the school single-game passing mark with his 455-yard passing performance against UConn this season. In two seasons as a Cavalier, he has thrown for 5,614 yards.

During his senior season, Brown had 42 tackles including nine tackles for loss. He posted three quarterback sacks and forced one fumble. He had a career-high eight tackles in UVA’s win against Georgia Tech that was the team’s sixth win of the season and made the Cavaliers bowl eligible. He has 90 career tackles, 10 career sacks and 25 career tackles for loss.

Kiser ranks No. 1 in the ACC and No. 3 in the nation with 134 tackles. He is No. 5 all-time at UVA with 400 career tackles and owns 20 career double-digit tackle games in 36 career starts. Kiser’s 385 tackles since the start of the 2015 season are the most in the nation during that span. He was named a first-team All-ACC honoree for the third straight season earlier this week. Kiser is on track to become the second player in ACC history to lead the league in tackles in three straight seasons, joining Boston College’s Luke Kuechly (2009-11). Kiser is a finalist for the Campbell Trophy and the Senior CLASS Award, while he is a semifinalist for the Butkus Award.

The Senior Bowl is the nation’s most unique football game and football’s premier senior showcase event. It annually features the country’s best senior collegiate football players and top NFL draft prospects on teams representing the North and South that are coached by the entire coaching staffs of two National Football League teams. Only college seniors and fourth-year junior graduates are eligible for the game. Fourth-year junior graduates must have graduated by the December prior to the game to be eligible.