Mackey Award Watch List 2016: Full List Released

The battle to become the nation's top tight end has officially begun. The NCAA released its watch list for the 2016 Mackey Award on Wednesday night, featuring a number of high-profile names and a few who should ascend to the forefront this season.

Michigan's Jake Butt, Alabama's O.J. Howard and Ole Miss' Evan Engram lead the charge in a solid group of pass-catchers who should be playing on Sundays a year from now. Clemson's Jordan Leggett, Virginia Tech's Bucky Hodges and Arkansas' Jeremy Sprinkle are among the notables on the full list of players, according to NCAA.com:

Player	School	Year
Jeb Blazevich	Georgia	Jr.
Pharaoh Brown	Oregon	Sr.
Barrett Burns	Appalachian St.	Sr.
Jake Butt	Michigan	Sr.
Cethan Carter	Nebraska	Sr.
Connor Cella	Rice	Sr.
CJ Conrad	Kentucky	So.
Buck Cowan	Idaho	Sr.
Darrell Daniels	Washington	Sr.
Elkanah Dillon	USF	So.
DJ Dowdy	Cincinnati	Sr.
Evan Engram	Ole Miss	Sr.
Gerald Everett	South Alabama	Sr.
Billy Freeman	San Jose St.	Sr.
Mike Gesicki	Penn State	Jr.
Jarred Gipson	Nevada	Sr.
DeAndre Goolsby	Florida	Jr.
Cole Hikutini	Louisville	Sr.
Bucky Hodges	Virginia Tech	Jr.
Wyatt Houston	Utah State	Sr.
OJ Howard	Alabama	Sr.
Ryan Izzo	Florida State	So.
Blake Jarwin	Oklahoma State	Sr.
Ben Johnson	Kansas	Jr.
Alize Jones	Notre Dame	So.
George Kittle	Iowa	Sr.
Kody Kohl	Arizona State	Sr.
Jordan Leggett	Clemson	Sr.
Brandon Lingen	Minnesota	Jr.
Troy Mangen	Ohio	Jr.
Hayden Plinke	UTEP	Sr.
Josiah Price	Michigan State	Sr.
Michael Roberts	Toledo	Sr.
Jake Roh	Boise State	Jr.
Keith Rucker	Georgia St.	Sr.
Mason Schreck	Buffalo	Sr.
Dalton Schultz	Stanford	So.
Cam Serigne	Wake Forest	Jr.
Jonnu Smith	FIU	Sr.
Jeremy Sprinkle	Arkansas	Sr.
Todd Stafford	Massachusetts	Jr.
Colin Thompson	Temple	Sr.
Cody Tuttle	Eastern Michigan	Jr.
Ethan Wolf	Tennessee	Jr.
Ryan Yurachek	Marshall	Jr.

A day after being named the only tight ends on the Maxwell Award watch list, Butt and Howard are the prohibitive favorites here.

Butt emerged as a first-team All-American and All-Big Ten selection last season, setting a career high with 51 receptions for 654 yards and three touchdowns. He chose to return for his senior campaign rather than entering the 2016 draft, where he likely would have been picked within the first three rounds.

“I truly think that we can win it all,” Butt told ESPN in April, per Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press. “I truly, truly believe that, and that’s where it starts. But it’s going to be one game at a time when the fall comes around. Just because spring’s over, we’re going to be working all summer just to improve our game. And Week 1, come Hawaii, we’ll be ready.”

Howard recorded 38 receptions for 602 yards and two touchdowns as a junior. Between Howard, Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart, the Crimson Tide have one of their most talented pass-catching corps in history. The tight end averaged the highest yards per reception among the three (15.8) and might wind up being the best pro among this class at his position.

"It was kind of a decision where I thought I have so much left on the table in college," Howard said of why he stayed at Alabama, per John Talty of AL.com. "How I can mature on and off the field. It really wasn't a hard decision at the end of the day. We thought about it a lot."

Engram saw his numbers take a dip from his sophomore to junior seasons, catching the same amount of passes but averaging 5.2 fewer yards per reception. His numbers were down in part due to improvements as a blocker, yet he's still a little slight for the next level. With Chad Kelly expected to take another leap under center in 2016, Engram should be in store for a bounce-back campaign.

Leggett was an underrated cog in Clemson's explosive offense last season. He caught eight touchdowns as a big red-zone threat as part of a 40-reception, 525-yard season. The ascent came seemingly out of nowhere, as Leggett more than doubled his receptions and yards from his first two years at Clemson.

Sprinkle will be hoping for a similar leap in performance as he replaces Chargers second-round pick Hunter Henry as Arkansas' primary tight end. He made 27 receptions for 389 yards and six touchdowns last season in a secondary role.

Hodges, meanwhile, will be hoping to build on solid freshman and sophomore seasons in a starring role. He put up 85 receptions for 1,056 yards and 13 touchdowns over the first two years at Virginia Tech, turning in nearly identical campaigns. If he hopes to catch the aforementioned guys ahead of him, it's time he realizes his immense potential.

The Mackey Award has typically resulted in a near-guarantee of playing on Sundays. Tim Stratton, the winner of the inaugural Mackey Award in 2000, is the only player not drafted after taking home the trophy. A majority of the others have been selected within the first three rounds. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.