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Biletnikoff Award’s Ten 2017 Semifinalists Announced

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award, announced the 10 Semifinalists for the 2017 Biletnikoff Award. The secure and confidential electronic voting by the distinguished members of the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee was conducted from November 6th through November 12th, and certified by a prominent CPA firm.

The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the outstanding receiver in college football. 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 the outstanding receiver, not merely the outstanding wide receiver.

The semifinalists, finalists, and award recipient are selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of prominent college football journalists, commentators, and former receivers. Foundation trustees do not vote and have never voted. See: http://biletnikoffaward.com/voters

The transparently detailed and explicit criteria for candidate eligibility and voting appear at: http://biletnikoffaward.com/criteria

The ten 2017 Biletnikoff Award Semifinalists are as follows:

NAME SCHOOL
Darren Andrews UCLA
A.J. Brown Ole Miss
Deontay Burnett USC
Keke Coutee Texas Tech
Michael Gallup Colorado State
Steve Ishmael Syracuse
Anthony Miller Memphis
Trey Quinn SMU
David Sills, V West Virginia
James Washington Oklahoma State

 

The 2017 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented live on December 7, 2017, on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be broadcast 7:00 – 9:00pm (EST) on ESPN. College Football Hall of Famer, Heisman Trophy winner, and Biletnikoff Award voter Desmond Howard will present the 2017 Biletnikoff Award winner on the show. Howard is one of only 5 ends or receivers who has won the Heisman Trophy, joining Larry Kelley, Leon Hart, Johnny Rodgers, and Biletnikoff Award voter Tim Brown.

The correlation between Biletnikoff Award winners and stardom in the National Football League is predictable. Past Biletnikoff Award winners include Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, and Larry Fitzgerald.

The 2017 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented the Biletnikoff Award trophy by college and pro football hall of famers Fred Biletnikoff and keynoter Floyd Little before 550 patrons at the Biletnikoff Award Banquet at the University Center Club at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday, February 10, 2018. The banquet was hailed by 2014 keynote speaker Dick Vermeil, as well as by 2013 keynoter Larry Csonka, as “the best banquet in college sports.” The banquet has featured distinguished keynoters of profound character and accomplishments including Bart Starr, Dick Vermeil, Larry Csonka, Steve Largent, Mike Ditka, Don Shula, Dan Reeves, Archie Manning, Ron Jaworski, Gene Stallings, Bob Griese, Bill Curry, Bobby Bowden, Jim Kelly, Jerry Kramer, Joe Theismann, and Dan Fouts.

The banquet also recognizes the Foundation’s scholarship recipients who will be offered by the Foundation over $800,000 in college and vocational scholarships and related benefits in 2018 as in 2016 and 2017. The Foundation’s charitable mission is the provision of college and vocational scholarships to North Florida high school seniors who have overcome significant barriers to achieve at the highest academic and extra-curricular levels.

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., will announce the three finalists on November 20, 2017. For complete details and updates of interest, together with weekly statistics and timely, important news of the Biletnikoff Award candidates, as well as a fan vote and discussion board, please consult the Foundation’s highly informative website at http://www.biletnikoffaward.com.

The name Biletnikoff is synonymous with the term receiver. Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame, was an All-America receiver at Florida State University, 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. Fred was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XI. The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation (TQC), Inc., created the Biletnikoff Award in 1994.

FanVote and FanForum

Recently, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation opened the 2017 FanVote and FanForum. Every fan may vote once daily on the Biletnikoff Award FanVote page. The aggregate fan tally will be counted as one official vote to determine semi-finalists (ten receivers), finalists (three), and the winner. In the closest contest in years, the FanVote tally provided the one-vote margin of victory for 2013 winner Brandin Cooks of Oregon State. The Biletnikoff Award FanForum consists of fan-created discussion topics that allow sports fans to voice their opinions.

To access the Biletnikoff Award FanVote, go to http://biletnikoffaward.com/fan-vote.

To access the Biletnikoff Award FanForum Discussion Board, go to http://www.biletnikoffaward.com/forum.