The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the prestigious Biletnikoff Award, has released the 2020 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List.
The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the college football season’s outstanding FBS receiver. 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 semifinalists, finalists, and award recipient are selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of prominent college football journalists, commentators, announcers, Biletnikoff Award winners, and other former receivers. Foundation trustees do not vote and have never voted. For a list of voters, please see BiletnikoffAward.com/voters.
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 Biletnikoff Award candidate eligibility and voting criteria, transparently explicit and detailed, are available for review at BiletnikoffAward.com/criteria.
The correlation between Biletnikoff Award winners and stardom in the National Football League is nearly uniformly consistent. Past Biletnikoff Award winners include Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, the late Terry Glenn, and Larry Fitzgerald.
The 2020 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented the Biletnikoff Award trophy by TQC Foundation Chairman George Avant, Jr., keynoter and college hall of famer Chad Hennings, and college and pro football hall of famer Fred Biletnikoff before 550 patrons at the Biletnikoff Award Banquet at the University Center Club at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday, March 6, 2021. 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 the late Bart Starr, Dick Vermeil, Floyd Little, Larry Csonka, Steve Largent, Mike Ditka, the late Don Shula, Dan Reeves, Archie Manning, Ron Jaworski, Gene Stallings, Bob Griese, Bill Curry, Bobby Bowden, Jim Kelly, Jerry Kramer, Joe Theismann, Dan Fouts, Lou Holtz, and Aaron Taylor.
The TQC 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 extracurricular levels. Participation in sports is not a requirement. The Foundation has provided many millions of dollars for several hundreds of scholarships and related benefits through 2020.
The name Biletnikoff is synonymous with the term
receiver. Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame, was a consensus 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 2020 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List
(Other receivers will be added as their season performances dictate)
| PLAYER | SCHOOL |
| Jonathan Adams Jr. | Arkansas State |
| Tutu Atwell | Louisville |
| Jhamon Ausbon | Texas A&M |
| Rashod Bateman | Minnesota |
| David Bell | Purdue |
| Jadan Blue | Temple |
| Max Borghi | Washington State |
| Dyami Brown | North Carolina |
| Ja’Marr Chase | LSU |
| Nico Collins | Michigan |
| Elijah Cooks | Nevada |
| Damonte Coxie | Memphis |
| Frank Darby | Arizona State |
| Jaelon Darden | North Texas |
| Pat Freiermuth | Penn State |
| Kaylon Geiger | Troy |
| Kylen Granson | SMU |
| Warren Jackson | Colorado State |
| C.J. Johnson | East Carolina |
| Johnny Johnson III | Oregon |
| Tim Jones | Southern Miss |
| Charlie Kolar | Iowa State |
| Terrace Marshall Jr. | LSU |
| Elijah Moore | Ole Miss |
| Rondale Moore | Purdue |
| Skyy Moore | Western Michigan |
| Dazz Newsome | North Carolina |
| Tre Nixon | UCF |
| Chris Olave | Ohio State |
| Andrew Parchment | Kansas |
| Whop Philyor | Indiana |
| George Pickens | Georgia |
| Kalil Pimpleton | Central Michigan |
| Kyle Pitts | Florida |
| Charleston Rambo | Oklahoma |
| Reggie Roberson Jr. | SMU |
| Brad Rozner | Rice |
| Khalil Shakir | Boise State |
| Jared Smart | Hawaii |
| DeVonta Smith | Alabama |
| Ihmir Smith-Marsette | Iowa |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | USC |
| Marquez Stevenson | Houston |
| Keylon Stokes | Tulsa |
| Sage Surratt | Wake Forest |
| Tamorrion Terry | Florida State |
| Tyquan Thornton | Baylor |
| Victor Tucker | Charlotte |
| Tyler Vaughns | USC |
| Jaylen Waddle | Alabama |
| Tre Walker | San José State |
| Tylan Wallace | Oklahoma State |
| Austin Watkins | UAB |
| Seth Williams | Auburn |
| Michael Wilson | Stanford |