NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt football earned two spots on the watch list for the annual Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse, with Martel Hight and Junior Sherrill included among the group announced Monday by the Louisville Sports Commission. The award is given annually to the most versatile player in college football.
Hight played in all 13 contests for the Commodores during the 2025 season, making 10 starts and posting 35 total stops along with a career-high four interceptions and two additional passes broken up at cornerback.
The native of Rome, Georgia, was selected as the Paul Hornung Award national Player of the Week after posting a career-best four receptions for 33 yards, a 2-yard carry, a key block on a 44-yard TD run and adding two tackles on defense in a victory at No. 11/10 South Carolina. He was named the SEC co-Defensive Player of the Week after intercepting two passes, returning those for 71 combined yards, and breaking up another pass attempt in a win over Kentucky.
Sherrill, a senior from Nashville, Tennessee, appeared in all 13 games for the Commodores, including making 11 starts. The wideout finished the 2025 campaign with 54 catches— second most on the team, and the most among returners this fall—for 784 yards and a team-high-tying seven touchdowns. Sherrill became the first Commodore since Earl Bennett in 2005 to have three receiving touchdowns in a game, on six catches for 91 yards in a win over Utah State. He had two 100-yard receiving games in 2025, first accomplishing the feat in a defeat of Kentucky before totaling 123 receiving yards on eight catches against Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Sherrill was named preseason fourth-team All-SEC by Athlon Sports.
Hight, Sherrill and the Commodores are coming off a historic 10-win season and are slated to begin the campaign against Austin Peay, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. on Sept. 5 at FirstBank Stadium.