Texas Tech TE finds himself on the Mackey Award preseason watchlist

One of the players that many Texas Tech football fans are excited to see in scarlet and black this fall is transfer tight end from Arizona State, Jalin Conyers. The Gruver, Texas native is one of the most versatile athletes on the roster and on Friday, he was named to the Mackey Award preseason watchlist.

Last season with the Sun Devils, Conyers put up 454 total yards from scrimmage and one TD. He'll have to do better than that in 2024 if he wants to capture the Mackey Award, given annually to the nation's best tight end.

The 2023 winner of the award, Georgia's Brock Bowers, posted 714 receiving yards and six touchdowns in ten games played. Of course, other factors come into play such as run and pass blocking but ultimately, almost all awards come down to statistics.

The Mackey Award is named after John Mackey, a long-time NFL tight end. According to the Mackey Award website, "Dedicated to the life of John Mackey himself, the award seeks to keep on driving true passion, dedication and at the same time raise health awareness for the Game of football in schools, especially in colleges and among the youth generally."

A Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1992, Mackey was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and a three-time All-NFL performer. In 2001, the John Mackey Award was established by the Nassau County Sports Commission. The award is given yearly to the top college tight end to honor the former Syracuse tight end.

No Texas Tech player has won the Mackey Award. However, one rather recent Red Raider was involved in a bit of controversy concerning the award.

In 2013, Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro caught 106 passes for 1,352 yards and seven touchdowns. Those numbers were easily the best of any tight end in America.

However, the Mackey Award selection committee did not consider Amaro a true tight end but rather a wide receiver because he didn't spend enough time on the line of scrimmage like a traditional tight end. Thus, Amaro was not nominated for the award. Had he been eligible, he would have been a no-brainer selection.

This year, Conyers could be utilized in a manner similar to how Amaro was deployed all those years ago. He's expected to line up across the formation as well as in the backfield and even at quarterback in certain situations.

However, it appears that the Mackey Award views him as a true tight end. Hopefully, he will put up strong enough numbers for the Red Raiders to be in contention for the award at season's end.