The Kentucky Wildcats football program, the oldest in the SEC, has a history marked by the coaching of legendary figures like Paul "Bear" Bryant (1950 SEC Championship) and recent revitalization under Mark Stoops (lead them to eight consecutive bowl berths).
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Contenders' Rookie Tickets Autographs are among the most distinct in the hobby. For 2011, Panini made the signatures on-card rather than the stickers used in the past. Every box of the mid- to -high-end set has four total autograph cards, including two from the game's first-year players. Randall Cobb played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning All-American honors in 2010. During his first year, under head coach Rich Brooks, he was named to the SEC All-Freshmen team at quarterback, playing in 11 games and starting four at quarterback. He accounted for 11 touchdowns as a freshman – two passing, two receiving, and seven rushing. In his sophomore season, he played mainly wide receiver as well as a significant role in the offense/special teams returning kicks, place kick holding, receiving, and also quarterback in the “Wildcat” formation. He scored 15 touchdowns – four receiving, one returning, and ten rushing during the 2009 season. During the season, he had an eight-game streak of scoring a touchdown. On October 9, 2010, Cobb scored four touchdowns against undefeated and eventual national champions Auburn, tying the Kentucky school record for career touchdowns at 32.
On September 8, 2011, in the Packers' opening game of the season against the New Orleans Saints, Cobb became the first person born in the 1990s to play in the NFL. Cobb recorded his first NFL touchdown on a 32-yard reception in the first quarter, and followed up with a 108-yard kickoff return in the third quarter that tied the record set in 2007 for longest kickoff return in NFL history. The return was later named Play of the Year at the season-ending NFL Honors banquet. In a Monday Night Football game against the Vikings on November 14, 2011, Cobb scored his second special teams touchdown of the year on an 80-yard punt return in the first quarter. With that, Cobb became the first rookie in Packers history to return both a kick and a punt for a touchdown in the same season.
Alvin “Bud” Dupree Jr. played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats, as a starter at defensive end his senior season in 2014 and was voted team captain for the Wildcats. For the season, he had 74 tackles, 12.5 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks. He started all 12 games and recorded his first career interception which he returned for a game-winning touchdown in a 45-38 win against South Carolina. The Steelers selected him in the first round, 22nd overall, in the 2015 NFL draft. He was the 1st UK players taken in the first round since defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson went with the fourth overall pick to the New York Jets in the 2003 NFL draft. Dupree has since played for the Steelers, Titans, Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers.
Each 2015 Panini Prizm Football hobby box had a lot of variety. They came with 12 Prizms including a Red, a Blue and a Green. The actual number of prizms, though, was down for 2015. That year there were only 15, which was down from 18 in 2014 prior. Numbered to just /125, this red prizm was personally pulled and scored a strong 10/10 grade.
2021-22 Bowman University Football gave the youth-centric brand a fresh start on the gridiron. With recent developments surrounding NIL and collegiate athletes, Topps (and other companies) was able to create cards of players potentially years before their professional debuts. The product had a 100-card base set that’s not just 2022 draft-eligible players. The new NIL rules allowed current collegiate athletes from to appear. Cards carried the “1st Bowman” notation. Both Bowman and Bowman Chrome versions were available that year.
In 2021, Will Levis transferred from Penn State to the University of Kentucky, where he started all 13 games as the quarterback and recorded 2,827 passing yards and 24 passing touchdowns. He led the Wildcats to a 10-3 record, culminating in a victory in the 2022 Citrus Bowl. In his first start for Kentucky, Levis threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns. His 24 touchdown passes in the 2021 season were the most by a Kentucky quarterback since Andre' Woodson in 2007. Levis also demonstrated dual-threat capabilities, adding 376 rushing yards and a team-high tying nine rushing touchdowns.
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