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BYU's Dennis Pitta Named to Midseason Watch List for 2009 John Mackey Award
Senior tight end has caught a pass in 37 consecutive games.
October 19, 2009 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - BYU senior tight end Dennis Pitta is one of 22 individuals on the midseason watch list for the 2009 John Mackey Award, announced today in Manhasset, N.Y. Given annually to the best collegiate tight end, the award is voted on by the John Mackey Award Selection Committee. The 2009 John Mackey winner will be announced on December 10, 2009.The John Mackey Award midseason watch list is an update from the preseason watch list. This list is meant to draw attention to tight ends in contention for the annual award based on their performance in the first half of the active season. Pitta, who was on the original preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award when it was announced in July, is a two-time first-team all-Mountain West Conference performer. This season, he ranks fourth and fifth in the league, respectively, in receiving yards (471) and receptions (34). The Moorpark, Calif., native has caught a pass in 37 consecutive games, which ranks fourth in the nation among active FBS players. Pitta also leads all active tight ends nationally with 2,543 career receiving yards to rank ninth on the list of receivers overall. 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, lists eight NFL players as alumni: Dallas Clark ('01) of the 2006 Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts, two-time Super Bowl Champion Daniel Graham ('02) of the Denver Broncos, Kellen Winslow II ('03) of the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, two-time Super Bowl Champion Heath Miller ('04) of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Marcedes Lewis ('05) of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Matt Spaeth ('06) of the of the 2008 Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, Fred Davis ('07) of the Washington Redskins and the 2008 John Mackey Award recipient Chase Coffman of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association's official website, www.ncfaa.org.
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