Courtesy of the John Mackey Award
MANHASSET, N.Y. - The 2009 John Mackey Award watch list has been released by the Nassau County Sports Commission. Given annually to the best collegiate tight end, the award recipient is selected by vote of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee and the 2009 John Mackey winner will be announced on December 10, 2009.
NFL Hall of Fame member John Mackey is considered to be 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, lists eight NFL players as alumni: Dallas Clark ('01) of the 2006 Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts, two-time Super Bowl Champion Daniel Graham ('02) of the Denver Broncos, Kellen Winslow II ('03) of the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, two-time Super Bowl Champion Heath Miller ('04) of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Marcedes Lewis ('05) of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Matt Spaeth ('06) of the of the 2008 Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, Fred Davis ('07) of the Washington Redskins and the 2008 John Mackey Award recipient Chase Coffman of the Cincinnati Bengals.
2009 John Mackey Award Watch List
PLAYER YR SCHOOL
Jeffrey Anderson JR UAB
Jake Ballard SR Ohio State
Greg Boone SR Virginia Tech
Nate Byham SR Pittsburgh
Jeff Cottam SR Tennessee
Ed Dickson SR Oregon
Richard Dickson SR LSU
TC Drake SR Kentucky
Charlie Gantt JR Michigan State
Riar Geer SR Colorado
Garrett Graham SR Wisconsin
Jermaine Gresham SR Oklahoma
Rob Gronkowski JR Arizona
Aaron Hernandez JR Florida
Mike Hoomanawanui SR Illinois
Blaine Irby JR Texas
Jeron Mastrud SR Kansas State
Anthony McCoy SR USC
Mike McNeil SR Iowa
Tony Moeaki JR Nebraska
Ryan Moya SR UCLA
Logan Paulsen SR UCLA
Dennis Pitta SR BYU
Andrew Quarless JR Penn State
Kyle Rudolph SO Notre Dame
Weslye Saunders JR South Carolina
Cody Slate JR Marshall
Tommy Trott SR Auburn
DJ Williams JR Arkansas
Ben Wooster SR Wake Forest
The Nassau County Sports Commission, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization created to enhance the quality of life through sports is responsible for the administration of the John Mackey Award and the John Mackey Award Selection Committee. For more information, please visit www.nassausports.org.
The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association's official website, www.ncfaa.org.