Ole Miss Football’s Franklin, Harris Named to Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List

Ole Miss football senior wide receivers Zakhari Franklin and Tre Harris have both been named to the Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation on Monday.

The Rebel pair are among 49 FBS receivers and among eight within the SEC named to the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given out annually to college football’s outstanding FBS receiver. Ole Miss is one of just nine programs nationally with multiple watch list honorees, as well as one of just two in the SEC alongside reigning national champions, Georgia (3).

Any player, regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot back, and running back) who catches a pass is eligible for the award. As such, the Biletnikoff Award recognizes college football’s outstanding receiver, not merely college football’s outstanding wide receiver.

The award is named after Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame who was a consensus All-America receiver at Florida State and an All-Pro receiver for the Oakland Raiders. He caught 589 passes for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns in his 14-year Raiders career from 1965 through 1978, and was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XI.

Franklin, a senior transfer from UTSA, enters 2023 as the active FBS leader in career receptions (262), as well as second on the active list in career receiving yards (3,348). Franklin has already been named a fourth team preseason All-SEC member by Phil Steele in recognition of his superb career with the Roadrunners. In 46 career games for UTSA, Franklin rewrote their record books en route to two first team All-Conference USA selections and an Honorable Mention All-America nod by Phil Steele in 2022. Franklin has notched 13 career 100-yard receiving games, and in 2022 was tied for second nationally in receiving touchdowns with 15. Franklin was also part of the Biletnikoff watch list in 2022.

Harris, a senior transfer from Louisiana Tech, is also no stranger to the Biletnikoff as he was a watch list member with the Bulldogs in 2022. Harris appeared in 31 games and made 21 starts for LA Tech, hauling in 1,529 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns during his time in Ruston. He was named first team All-Conference USA in 2022 after leading Tech with 935 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns.



The semifinalists, finalists, and award recipient are selected by the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of 650 prominent college football journalists, commentators, announcers, Biletnikoff Award winners, and other former receivers. Receivers are frequently added to the watch list as their season performances dictate. Actual, not potential, performance is the basis for inclusion on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.

The 2023 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented the Biletnikoff Award trophy by TQC Founding Trustee and Chairman Walter Manley II, Fred Biletnikoff, and the banquet keynote speaker at the black-tie Biletnikoff Award Banquet & Celebration at the Dunlap Champions Club, at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Sat., March 9, 2024.

The Biletnikoff Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.

Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates:

Mon., July 31: Maxwell Award
Tues., Aug. 1: Outland Trophy/Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Wed., Aug. 2: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Thurs., Aug. 3: Paul Hornung Award/Wuerffel Trophy
Fri., Aug. 4: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Mon., Aug. 7: Biletnikoff Award
Tues., Aug. 8: Davey O’Brien Award
Wed., Aug. 9: Doak Walker Award
Thurs., Aug. 10: Butkus Award/Paycom Jim Thorpe Award
Fri., Aug. 11: Walter Camp Award
Mon., Aug. 14: Bednarik Award

Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics