Draft Insiders' Digest Premier NFL Draft and Free Agency Publication
John Mackey Midseason List
Photo - Dorin Dickerson - Pittsburgh
The 2009 John Mackey Award midseason 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. Other key dates include the announcement of the 2009 Mackey semi-finalists on November 16, 2009 and the announcement of the 2009 Mackey finalists on November 23, 2009.
Pittsburgh senior Dorin Dickerson, whose eight touchdown catches lead the entire country, has been named to the midseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, annually presented to the nation’s top tight end by the Nassau County Sports Commission.
Twenty-two players were named to the Mackey Award midseason list based on their performance during the first half of the 2009 season. Dickerson has enjoyed an exceptional campaign thus far with 27 receptions for 274 yards (10.1 avg.). His eight TD catches pace the Big East Conference and are tied for the national lead. He has scored at least one touchdown in five of Pitt’s seven games this year. He had a career-high three TDs in a 54-27 victory at Buffalo and two scores in the Panthers’ 35-10 win at Louisville. In Pitt’s dramatic come-from-behind 24-21win over Connecticut, he had a 27-yard TD catch that, following a 2-point conversion, tied the game at 21 with 7:35 left in the game. His TD helped wipe out a 15-point third-quarter deficit and set the stage for the game-winning field goal as time expired.
The 2009 John Mackey Award recipient will be selected by a vote of the award’s selection committee and announced on Dec. 10. Semifinalists will be announced on Nov. 16 and finalists on Nov. 23. Former Pitt tight end Kris Wilson, now a member of the San Diego Chargers, was a finalist for the John Mackey Award in 2003.
Pitt (6-1, 3-0 Big East) surged into the national polls this week, ranking No. 18 in Draft Insiders.com, #19 in the USA Today coaches poll and #20 by The Associated Press. The Panthers are No. 20 in the newly released Bowl Championship Series rankings. The Panthers will host Big East foe South Florida (5-1, 1-1) this Saturday at Heinz Field.
The John Mackey Award midseason watch list is an update from the preseason watch list. This list is meant to draw attention to tight ends in contention for the annual award based on their performance in the first half of the active season.
2009 John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List
PLAYER / YR / SCHOOL
George Bryan - SO - NC St
Dorin Dickerson - SR - Pittsburgh
Ed Dickson - SR - Oregon
Charlie Gantt - JR - Michigan St
Riar Geer - SR - Colorado
Garrett Graham - SR - Wisconsin
Ladarius Green - SO - Louisiana
Aaron Hernandez - JR - Florida
Jeron Mastrud - SR - Kansas St
Anthony McCoy - SR - Southern Cal
Mike McNeil - JR - Nebraska
Kavario Middleton - SO - Washington
Tony Moeaki - SR - Iowa
Colin Peek - SR - Alabama
Dennis Pitta - SR - BYU
Andrew Quarless - JR - Penn St
Jesse Rack - SR - Buffalo
Kyle Rudolph - SO - Notre Dame
Weslye Saunders - JR - South Carolina
Cody Slate - JR - Marshall
Luke Stocker - JR - Tennessee
DJ Williams - JR - Arkansas
Story continues on second page
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.
All future announcements can be found at www.johnmackeyaward.org.
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.