Mountain West Football: Three Named To 2019 Biletnikoff Award Watch List
The roll call of those in the mix to be college football’s best receiver includes a trio from the Mountain West.
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Can a Mountain West pass-catcher finally bring this hardware home?
Few watch lists have brought enduring excitement for Mountain West fans like that of the Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best receiver. This time, there are three names from the Mountain West that hope to finish what recent Biletnikoff finalists Michael Gallup and Rashard Higgins started.
Hawaii’s run-and-shoot was explosive enough to land two players, Cedric Byrd and Jojo Ward, on this watch list. Byrd certainly made an impact in his first year as a starter: Among the five Warriors receivers with at least 60 targets, Byrd easily paced the field with a 67% catch rate and finished the year with 79 catches, 970 yards, and nine touchdowns.
Ward, meanwhile, who proved himself a big-play threat for the Warriors in 2018, catching 51 passes for 865 yards and nine touchdown. With John Ursua gone to the NFL, more targets could mean monster campaigns for both.
Fresno State’s Jared Rice is one of just four tight ends on the Biletnikoff list for good reason. He became a reliable weapon between the numbers for the Bulldogs last fall by catching 55 passes for 664 yards, with a 73.3% catch rate, and three touchdowns.
Last year’s Biletnikoff Award winner was Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy.
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