The John Mackey Award released its 33-name midseason Watch List on Monday and, considering the state of the position in college football, this may very well be the only 33 names that meet its criteria.
We all remember the Jace Amaro fiasco last year, where the Texas Tech tight end was first deemed not eligible for the award, then granted eligibility, only to be snubbed from the finalist list despite ranking sixth nationally with 106 catches, while North Carolina’s Eric Ebron ranked second among tight ends at 62. Washington’s Austin Seferian-Jenkins took home the 2013 trophy.
Wake Forest’s Cam Serigne leads all tight ends with 29 catches for 282 yards and one touchdown. He ranks 78th nationally among all pass-catchers, and stands as the only tight end in the top 100.
Here is the full list, presented in alphabetical order:
- Rory Anderson - South Carolina
- Kennard Backman - UAB
- E.J. Bibbs - Iowa State
- Gerald Christian - Louisville
- Evan Engram - Ole Miss
- Billy Freeman - San Jose State
- David Grinnage - N.C. State
- Connor Hamlett - Oregon State
- Mitchell Henry - Western Kentucky
- Jeff Heuerman - Ohio State
- Bucky Hodges - Virginia Tech
- Austin Hooper - Stanford
- O.J. Howard - Alabama
- Jesse James - Penn State
- Malcolm Johnson - Missisippi State
- Ben Koyack - Notre Dame
- Tyler Kroft - Rutgers
- Jimmay Mundine - Kansas
- Nick O’Leary - Florida State
- Casey Pierce - Kent State
- Joel Ruiz - Georgia State
- Tyreese Russell - Eastern Michigan
- Wes Saxton - South Alabama
- Cam Serigne - Wake Forest
- Jean Sifrin - Massachusetts
- Justin Sinz - Purdue
- Jonnu Smith - Florida International
- Randall Telfer - USC
- Eric Tomlinson - UTEP
- C.J. Uzomah - Auburn
- Clive Walford - Miami (Fla.)
- Alex Welch - Miami (Ohio)
- Maxx Williams - Minnesota
Semifinalists will be announced Nov. 17, finalists a week after that, and the winner will be revealed at ESPN’s college football awards show on Dec. 11.