John Mackey Award finalists named for the 2021 season

The John Mackey Award is given to the nation’s top tight end each year in college football. Previous winners of the award include players such as former Florida Gator Kyle Pitts or former Oklahoma Sooner Mark Andrews. The three finalists were recently announced for the award for the 2021 season and they are: Trey McBride of Colorado State, Charlie Kolar of Iowa State, and Jalen Wydermyer of Texas A&M.

Trey McBride is in the middle of a breakout season for the Colorado State Rams. His 1,008 receiving yards in 2021 are already more than his previous two seasons combined. The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder has already hauled in 84 catches this season–ranking him eighth in the country in the category amongst all pass catchers. He’s currently ranked first in the nation in catches by a tight end. This season, he’s had over 100-yards receiving in five games. While he’s only scored one receiving touchdown, there’s no question McBride has earned his rightful place among the nation’s elite tight ends in 2021. It’s McBride’s first appearance as a Mackey Award finalist.

Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar is no stranger to the Mackey Award list. He was named a finalist for the award in 2020 and a semifinalist in 2019. It’s far from surprising that he is once again a finalist for the award. Thus far in 2021, he’s hauled in 53 catches for 658 receiving yards, while hauling in five receiving touchdowns. He just posted his best performance of the season against the Oklahoma Sooners, hauling in 12 catches for 152 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Texas A&M’s Jalen Wydermyer is perhaps the least surprising player to land a spot as a Mackey Award finalist. He was named a finalist for the award in 2020, when he hauled in 46 catches for 506 receiving yards, while bringing in six touchdowns. In 2021 thus far, he’s snagged 36 catches for 491 receiving yards, while bringing in four touchdowns.

John Mackey bio

John Mackey was one of the greatest tight ends to ever play the game. He became only the second player in NFL history that played strictly tight end to become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

During his remarkable NFL career, he hauled in 331 catches for 5,236 receiving yards, while bringing in 38 touchdown catches. He played in five Pro Bowls during his highly decorated professional career. He played for Syracuse in college. Mackey’s ability to catch the football across the middle revolutionized the tight end position forever. Up until the 1960s, tight ends were used mainly for blocking. He demonstrated that if a player had the right size, weight, and speed, that tight ends could be just as dangerous as any other weapon on offense.