News

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation Adds Amara Darboh, Jojo Natson, Jr., and John Ross to the Watch List of the Biletnikoff Award, Presented to College Football’s Outstanding Receiver Regardless of Position

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation Adds Amara Darboh, Jojo Natson, Jr., and John Ross to the Watch List of the Biletnikoff Award, Presented to College Football’s Outstanding Receiver Regardless of Position
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award, released the 2016 Biletnikoff Award Pre-Season Watch List on July 13. The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the outstanding receiver in college football. Any player, regardless of position (tight end, slot receiver and back, inside receiver, wide receiver, split end, and running back) who catches a pass is eligible for the award. As such, the Biletnikoff Award recognizes the outstanding receiver, not merely outstanding wide receiver.

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation announces the sixth and final 2016 season watch list addition (see below).

Player
School
Pos
Amara Darboh University of Michigan WR
JoJo Natson, Jr. University of Akron WR
John Ross University of Washington WR

 

 

 

 

FanVote and FanForum

Recently, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation opened the 2016 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

Biletnikoff Award Watch List: Additions

Receivers are periodically 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 watch list is found here: http://biletnikoffaward.com/2016-biletnikoff-award-watch-list

The award recipient is 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

Candidate Eligibility and Voting Criteria

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

The Home Depot College Football Awards and the Biletnikoff Award Banquet

The 2016 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented live on December 8, 2016, on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be broadcast 7:00 – 9:00pm (EST) on ESPN. College Football Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard will present the 2016 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 Tim Brown.

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

The 2016 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented his trophy before 550 patrons at the Biletnikoff Award Banquet at the University Center Club at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday, February 18, 2017. 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, Bill Curry, Jim Kelly, Jerry Kramer, Joe Theismann, and Dan Fouts.

Also recognized at the banquet are the Foundation’s scholarship recipients who will be offered by the Foundation over $800,000 in college and vocational scholarships and related benefits in 2017 alone, as in 2015 and 2016. 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.

Voting and Announcement Dates

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., will announce the ten Biletnikoff Award semifinalists on November 14, 2016, following the vote by the members of the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee. Likewise, the three finalists will be declared, following another vote, on November 22, 2016. For complete details and updates of interest, together with weekly statistics and timely, important news of the Biletnikoff Award candidates, as well as the FanVote and FanForum discussion board, please consult the Foundation’s highly informative website at http://www.biletnikoffaward.com

Fred Biletnikoff

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.