Kansas State senior wide receiver Tyler Lockett was one of 55 players nationally to be named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list, presented to the nation’s outstanding college receiver, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club announced Tuesday.
Lockett is a candidate for the award for a second-straight season as he was a midseason addition to the watch list a year ago. He joins a list of five former K-State greats who have been a candidate for the award, which include his father, Kevin (1994-95 candidate and 1996 semifinalist), his uncle, Aaron (1999-2000 candidate), and current Green Bay Packer wide receiver Jordy Nelson (2006 candidate and 2007 finalist).
The watch list honor is the third for Lockett this preseason as he is also a candidate for the Maxwell Award, presented to the college player of the year, and the Paul Hornung Award, awarded to the most versatile player in major college football.
A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Lockett put together one of the best seasons by a wide receiver in school history a year ago when he hauled in 81 receptions for 1,262 yards and 11 touchdowns to rank in the top five in school history in each category. He set the school record for single-game receiving yardage with 237 at Texas before resetting that mark with 278 against Oklahoma, which ranked as the fourth-most in Big 12 history.
A Second Team All-American and the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year in 2013, Lockett enters the 2014 season ranked fourth in school history in career receptions and yardage, and fifth in touchdowns. He needs 75 receptions, 838 yards and nine touchdowns to break all three school records, which are held by his father, Kevin.
Semifinalists for the 2014 Biletnikoff Award will be announced on November 17, while three finalists will be chosen on November 24. The winner of the award will be announced live on December 11 during The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.
K-State opens its 119th season of football on August 30, against Stephen F. Austin at Bill Snyder Family Stadium for the sixth-annual K-State Family Reunion. The contest, which kicks off at 6:10 p.m.
— KSU Sports Information —
Nebraska senior receiver Kenny Bell was named to the watch list for the 2014 Biletnikoff Award on Tuesday. The award annually recognizes the outstanding receiver in college football.
The 6-1, 185-pound Bell was named to the Biletnikoff watch list for the second straight season. Bell enters his final season at Nebraska on the verge of becoming the most prolific receiver in school history.
Bell ranks fifth on Nebraska’s career receptions list with 134 catches, leaving him 32 catches behind the NU record of 166 receptions by Nate Swift. Bell is third in school history with 1,901 career receiving yards, leaving him 578 yards from Johnny Rodgers’ school record in that category.
Bell has 15 career touchdown receptions heading into 2014, including four touchdown catches in 2013. He has shown a knack for the big play throughout his career with each of his last 13 touchdown catches covering at least 20 yards.
Bell has led Nebraska in receptions each of his first three seasons, the first player to accomplish that at Nebraska since Matt Davison from 1998 to 2000. This fall, Bell could be the first player to lead the Huskers in catches for four straight years. Bell finished his junior season with a team-high 52 receptions for 577 yards and earned honorable-mention all-conference honors.
Bell is one of 55 receivers on the watch list, including five players from the Big Ten Conference. The Biletnikoff Award is sponsored by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, and is named for College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff who starred at Florida State and with the Oakland Raiders.
Ten semifinalists for the award will be chosen on Nov. 17, with three finalists announced on Nov. 24. The winner will be announced on Dec. 11 as part of the ESPN College Football Awards Show.
— NU Sports Information —
The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., announced Tuesday that senior wide receiver Nick Harwell has been named one of 55 players on the preseason watch list for the 2014 Biletnikoff Award.
Created in 1994 in honor of Fred Biletnikoff, the Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the most outstanding receiver in college football. A member of the pro and collegiate football halls of fame, Biletnikoff was an All-Pro receiver for the Oakland Raiders and an All-America receiver at Florida State University.
The 2014 winner will be selected by the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of 221 prominent college football journalists, commentators, and former receivers. The winner will be honored with the trophy live on Dec. 11 on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be broadcast from 7-9 pm on ESPN.
Harwell, a native of Missouri City, Texas transferred to Kansas and was forced to sit out a season ago after spending the previous three years at Miami (Ohio) where he was a three-time All-Mid-American Conference selection and an honorable mention All-America selection by Sports Illustrated in 2011.
Harwell closed out his career at Miami holding the three highest single-game reception and receiving yard totals, as well as rewriting the Redhawk record book for most 100-yard games in school history. In just three seasons, Harwell ranks second on both the all-time Miami receptions and receiving yards lists with 229 catches for 3,166 yards.
Harwell and the rest of the Jayhawks begin the 2014 slate Sept. 6, as they play host to Southeast Missouri State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Memorial Stadium
— KU Sports Information —