Mackey Award Watch List 2015: Full List Released

The John Mackey Award committee announced the preseason watch list for the annual honor given to college football's top tight end Wednesday. Nick O'Leary, who was drafted in the sixth round by the Buffalo Bills, won the award last season.

With O'Leary now in the NFL, a new winner is guaranteed this fall. Other notable recipients of the coveted trophy, which has been handed out since 2000, include Dallas Clark, Kellen Winslow II and Heath Miller. No school has won it more than once.

Here's a complete look at the initial watch list for 2015:

Player	School	Player	School
Jerell Adams	South Carolina	Austin Hooper	Stanford
Jake Butt	Michigan	O.J. Howard	Alabama
Kyle Carter	Penn State	Jordan Leggett	Clemson
Kivon Cartwright	Colorado State	Ryan Malleck	Virginia Tech
Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick	USC	Jake McGee	Florida
Alan Cross	Memphis	Johnny Mundt	Oregon
Braxton Deaver	Duke	Joshua Perkins	Washington
Jake Duzey	Iowa	Jake Phillips	UNLV
Evan Engram	Ole Miss	Josiah Price	Michigan State
Billy Freeman	San Jose State	Sean Price	USF
Jarred Gipson	Nevada	Steven Scheu	Vanderbilt
David Grinnage	NC State	Cam Serigne	Wake Forest
Darion Griswold	Arkansas State	Jonnu Smith	FIU
Hunter Henry	Arkansas	Nick Vannett	Ohio State
Tyler Higbee	Western Kentucky	Steven Walker	Colorado State
Bucky Hodges	Virginia Tech	Bryce Williams	East Carolina
J.P. Holtz	Pittsburgh

This year's race for the Mackey Award is truly wide open. Of last year's eight semifinalists, five of them were seniors and two of them (Maxx Williams and Jean Sifrin) made the pro jump without exhausting their collegiate eligibility.

The lone remaining player from that group is Ole Miss' Evan Engram. So he probably becomes the front-runner almost by default.

A junior who's capable of stretching the defense by attacking the seams, he racked up 38 catches for 662 yards and two touchdowns in 2014. The biggest factor for him taking his game to the next level is becoming a more consistent target in the red zone to improve those TD numbers.

Aside from that, he's got all the skills coaching staffs love to work with for a pass-catching tight end, as highlighted by Josh Norris of Rotoworld:

Another player who stands out on the list is Michigan's Jake Butt. He didn't look all the way back to full strength until the latter stages of last season after recovering from a knee surgery. Now, after a minor cleanup during the offseason, he should be ready to roll.

He's got the size (6'6'', 248 pounds) and athleticism to become a major asset for the Wolverines. Now it comes down to getting his quickness back so he's able to run smoother routes. That's when his potential will really begin to shine through.

After the spring game, Butt talked about the opportunities that lay ahead with new coach Jim Harbaugh known for using his tight ends, per Michigan on BTN:

All told, this is a race that's difficult to handicap in the summer. Between the lack of returning candidates, the limited production for those who figured to contend and some unheralded players likely to emerge, the award is there for the taking.

Engram or Butt can establish himself as the favorite with a strong start to the campaign. It's more probable this is a race that goes right down to the wire, though.