Press Release
DATE: Friday, July 20, 2018
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Online: https://bit.ly/2uPoZLT
USF has produced a Mackey Award nominee for six straight seasons
NEW YORK, JULY 20, 2018 – USF junior Mitchell Wilcox was selected to the 2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List on Friday, the award given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end.
A native of Tarpon Springs, Fla., Wilcox is one of four tight ends from the American Athletic Conference to be selected to the preseason list.
Wilcox appeared in all 12 games last season and hauled in 17 catches for 158 yards to go along with two touchdowns, helping the Bulls rank sixth in the NCAA in total offense with 513.0 yards per game. In addition, his production assisted USF in averaging 38.3 points per game en route to ranking 10th in the nation in scoring offense.
Known as a devastating blocker, Wilcox helped paved the way for USF to average 264.1 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked eighth in the NCAA and included a performance in which the Bulls racked up 390 yards on the ground in a 61-31 victory at East Carolina.
It’s the second straight season for Wilcox and the sixth consecutive year in which USF has placed at least one representative on the Mackey Award Watch List. Wilcox is one of 35 Bay Area players on the USF roster entering the 2018 season. He first made the preseason list last year following a freshman campaign that saw him catch 12 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns on his way to being named AAC Second Team All-Conference.
The winner of the Mackey Award will be announced on Dec. 5 and then presented live the following day at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU. 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.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF is one of just 15 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and posted a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 28 first-team all-conference selections.
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