2016 Mackey Award watch list: Will O.J. Howard win?

A mix of experienced upperclassmen and rising talent make up this year’s Mackey Award watch list.

On Wednesday, the 2016 John Mackey Award watch list was announced as the focus begins to shift toward the start of the season.

The award is given to college football’s most outstanding tight end.

The list, in alphabetical order, is as follows:

2016 JOHN MACKEY AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST 

Jeb Blazevich, Georgia
Pharaoh Brown, Oregon
Barrett Burns, Appalachian State
Jake Butt, Michigan
Cethan Carter, Nebraska
Connor Cella, Rice
C.J. Conrad, Kentucky
Buck Cowan, Idaho
Darrell Daniels, Washington
Elkanah Dillon, USF
D.J. Dowdy, Cincinnati
Evan Engram, Ole Miss
Gerald Everett, South Alabama
Billy Freeman, San Jose State
Mike Gesicki, Penn State
Jarred Gipson, Nevada
DeAndre Goolsby, Florida
Cole Hikutini, Louisville
Bucky Hodges, Virginia Tech
Wyatt Houston, Utah State
O.J. Howard, Alabama
Ryan Izzo, Florida State
Blake Jarwin, Oklahoma State
Ben Johnson, Kansas
Alize Jones, Notre Dame
George Kittle, Iowa
Kody Kohl, Arizona State
Jordan Leggett, Clemson
Brandon Lingen, Minnesota
Troy Mangen, Ohio
Hayden Plinke, UTEP
Josiah Price, Michigan State
Michael Roberts, Toledo
Jake Roh, Boise State
Keith Rucker, Georgia State
Mason Schreck, Buffalo
Dalton Schultz, Stanford
Cam Serigne, Wake Forest
Jonnu Smith, Florida International
Jeremy Sprinkle, Arkansas
Todd Stafford, Massachusetts
Colin Thompson, Temple
Cody Tuttle, Eastern Michigan
Ethan Wolf, Tennessee
Ryan Yurachek, Marshall

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My pick to win the award is Howard. Now a senior, he knows what the Tide offensive system looks like and should be able to use that knowledge to his advantage. At 6-foot-6, 242 pounds, he should be able to bully defenders off the line of scrimmage and turn in some nice games like he had in the National Championship Game.