Evan Engram Lands on Mackey Award Watch List

Evan Engram Photo by Callie Daniels Bryant

For the third consecutive season, Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram was named to the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end. The Friends of John Mackey named Engram and 44 other tight ends to the watch list Wednesday morning (July 6).

Heading into his final season as a Rebel, Engram has already etched his name in the Ole Miss Football record book. The Powder Springs, Georgia, native is the program’s all-time leader in receptions (97) and receiving yards (1,394) by a tight end, while ranking fifth among Ole Miss tight ends with seven career touchdown catches. Engram has played in 34 games throughout his first three seasons, including all 26 of the team’s games over the past two years.

Last season, Engram greatly improved his block skills while remaining a major threat in the Ole Miss passing game. The tight end caught 38 passes, tying for second on the team, for 464 yards and a pair of touchdowns. One of four team captains, he helped lead the Rebels to a 10-win season that ended as the 2016 Allstate Sugar Bowl Champions. Along the way, Engram and the Ole Miss offense shattered multiple single-season school records, including total yards, points and touchdowns.

The 2016 Mackey Award recipient will be announced on December 7, 2016 and then presented live on December 8, 2016 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU. The award recipient is selected by vote of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee.

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, recognizes fourteen alumni that have played in the NFL: two-time Super Bowl Champion Daniel Graham (‘01), 2006 Super Bowl Champion Dallas Clark (‘02), Kellen Winslow II (‘03), two-time Super Bowl Champion Heath Miller (‘04), Marcedes Lewis (‘05) of the Jacksonville Jaguars, 2008 Super Bowl Champion Matt Spaeth (‘06) of the of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fred Davis (‘07), Chase Coffman (‘08), D.J. Williams (‘10),  Dwayne Allen (’11) of the Indianapolis Colts, Tyler Eifert (’12)  of the Cincinnati Bengals, Austin Seferian-Jenkins (’13) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Nick O’Leary (’14) of the Buffalo Bills and 2015 John Mackey Award recipient Hunter Henry of the San Diego Chargers.

The John Mackey Awards is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 22 awards boast over 722 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more.

The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Seventeen of the association’s 22 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the complete 2016 preseason watch list calendar:

Tues., July 5: Bednarik Award / Maxwell Award
Wed., July 6: Mackey Award / Rimington Trophy
Thurs., July 7: Lou Groza Award / Ray Guy Award
Fri., July 8: Bronko Nagurski Trophy / Outland Trophy
Mon., July 11: Jim Thorpe Award
Tues., July 12: Butkus Award / Rotary Lombardi Award
Wed., July 13: Biletnikoff Award / Wuerffel Trophy
Thurs, July 14: Davey O’Brien Award / Doak Walker Award
Fri., July 15: Walter Camp Award / Paul Hornung Award

For the latest updates on Ole Miss Football, follow the team on Twitter (@OleMissFB),  Facebook (Facebook.com/OleMissFootball) and Instagram (olemissfb).

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports Information

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