Kentucky’s C.J. Conrad, two Cardinals named to John Mackey Award watch list

Kentucky junior tight end C.J. Conrad was named Tuesday to the John Mackey Award preseason watch list for the third straight season.

Louisville’s Micky Crum and Jordan Davis also made the 55-player list announced by the National College Football Awards Association.

Conrad, a native of LaGrange, Ohio, ranked fourth on the team in receiving in 2016 with 19 catches for 262 yards and four touchdowns. He had a career day vs. New Mexico State, catching five passes for a career-high 133 yards and three touchdowns in the 62-42 win.

He became the first player since Dicky Lyons Jr. to have three receiving touchdowns in a game. He also was the first tight end with 100 receiving yards in a game since Jacob Tamme.

As a freshman, Conrad was named a third-team Athlon Sports Freshman All-American and earned a spot on the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team after leading all SEC freshmen tight ends with 15 catches for 149 yards and one score.

Crum, a junior from Columbus, Ohio, appeared in only eight games for the Cardinals after injuries halted his progress last season. He caught one pass for 7 yards in last year’s season opener versus Charlotte after catching 14 passes for 163 yards and three scores in 2015.

A transfer from Texas A&M, Davis, a sophomore from Clear Lake, Texas, sat out last season after joining the Cardinals’ program last fall. In one season for the Aggies in 2015, Davis saw action in 11 games, catching two passes for 7 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown reception,

The John Mackey Award is among 22 awards presented by the NCFAA and is named for NFL Hall of Fame member John Mackey, considered by many to be the best to have played the tight end position.

Rimington Trophy

Western Kentucky junior Dennis Edwards has been named to the Rimington Trophy preseason watch list, which honors the nation’s top center.

Edwards, a 6-1, 305 pound lineman from Snellville, Ga., started all 14 games last season at right guard for the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense.

The Rimington Trophy has been presented annually to the most outstanding center in NCAA Division I-A for 16 years. Dave Rimington, the award’s namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the Outland Trophy’s only two-time winner as the nation’s finest college interior lineman.

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Kentucky’s C.J. Conrad, two Cardinals named to John Mackey Award watch list."