Matt Bushman named to 2018 Mackey Award watch list

NEW YORK – BYU tight end Matt Bushman was named to the 2018 John Mackey Award preseason watch list Friday morning. 

Given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end, the award recipient is selected by vote of the John Mackey Award selection committee. The 2018 Mackey Award recipient will be announced on December 5, 2018, and then presented live on December 6, 2018, at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU.

In 2017, Bushman led all FBS Division I freshman tight ends with 49 receptions and 520 yards en route to earning Freshman All-America accolades from USA Today Sports, the Football Writers Association of America and 247Sports.

Former Consensus All-American Dennis Pitta was a Mackey Award finalist in 2009. Bushman recorded the most production from a BYU tight end since Pitta caught 62 balls for 829 yards and eight touchdowns that season.

NFL Hall of Fame member John Mackey is considered to be one of the best to have played the tight end position. A tight end by whom all others are measured, Mackey was a role model on and off the field as demonstrated by his Super Bowl Championship, his commitment to community and his place in history as the first President of the NFLPA.

The John Mackey Award presented since 2000, recognizes 15 alumni that have played in the NFL: two-time Super Bowl Champion Daniel Graham (‘01), 2006 Super Bowl Champion Dallas Clark (‘02), Kellen Winslow II (‘03), two-time Super Bowl Champion Heath Miller (‘04), Marcedes Lewis (‘05) of the Green Bay Packers, 2008 Super Bowl Champion Matt Spaeth (‘06), Fred Davis (‘07), Chase Coffman (‘08), D.J. Williams (’10), Dwayne Allen (’11) of the New England Patriots, Tyler Eifert (’12) of the Cincinnati Bengals, Austin Seferian-Jenkins (’13) of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Nick O’Leary (’14) of the Buffalo Bills, Hunter Henry (’15) of the Los Angeles Chargers, Jake Butt (16’) of the Denver Broncos and 2017 John Mackey Award recipient Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens.

The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 24 awards boast over 750 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more.