Football: Ken Marks Named to 2020 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List

Marks missed the 2019 season due to an injury

LAFAYETTE – Redshirt senior offensive lineman Ken Marks has been named to the 2020 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press (AP) and the Fiesta Bowl Organization, announced on Wednesday.

Marks is one of six players from the Sun Belt Conference and one 10 offensive linemen nationally named to the national watch list.

Primarily playing guard, Marks, a Beaumont, Texas, native, has started 22 games for Louisiana on the offensive line during his career, 14 of which came in 2018. As a redshirt sophomore in 2017, he helped pave the way for a Louisiana rushing attack that ranked third in the Sun Belt in total rushing yards (2,204).

A year later under first-year head coach Billy Napier, his leadership was evident as he guided the team to the Sun Belt West Division crown, an appearance in the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Championship Game and a berth in the AutoNation Cure Bowl.

Marks was poised for big things in 2019 and started in the team’s season opener against Mississippi State at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome before injury forced him to miss the remainder of the year.

In 2020, the redshirt senior has started in all six games for Louisiana at left guard, helping the team to a 5-1 overall record.

Since 2018, a panel of writers, editors and sports information directors from CoSIDA, AP and Touchdown Illustrated have recognized 30 college football student-athletes each season from all divisions of college football for overcoming injury or illness, by sharing their remarkable comeback stories throughout the season.

At the conclusion of the season, three college football student-athletes were honored as Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award winners during an on-field presentation at the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl.

Louisiana returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 7, when it hosts Arkansas State for the annual Homecoming game. Kickoff from Cajun Field is slated for 11 a.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

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