TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — BYU receiver Puka Nacua has been named to the 2022 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, the creator and sponsor of the prestigious award.
The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes college football’s outstanding FBS pass catcher, regardless of position — wide receiver, tight end, slot back and running back.
A 6-2, 205-pound junior from Provo, Utah, Nacua was named the 2021 Pro Football Network All-Independent Receiver of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and First Team Offense. He was also selected Phil Steele All-Independent First-Team Offense.
Nacua led BYU in receiving yards with 43 catches for 805 yards (18.7 yards per catch) and receiving touchdowns, despite missing the 2021 season opener due to injury. He was second in all-purpose yardage with 953 (79.4 per game) and had four games with over 100 receiving yards — South Florida (102), Baylor (168), Virginia (107) and Idaho State (120)
Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame, was a consensus All-America receiver at Florida State University, and an All-Pro receiver for the Oakland Raiders. He caught 589 passes for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns in his 14-year Raiders career from 1965 through 1978. Fred was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XI.
The 2022 semifinalists, finalists and award recipient will be selected by the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of 640 prominent college football journalists, commentators, announcers, Biletnikoff Award winners and other former receivers. The 2022 award winner will be presented the trophy at the Biletnikoff Award Banquet & Celebration at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on March 4, 2023.
In 2020 former BYU receiver, Dax Milne, was honored as a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist and was later named All-American before being selected by Washington Commanders in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The correlation between Biletnikoff Award winners and stardom in the National Football League is nearly uniformly consistent. Past Biletnikoff Award winners include NFL standouts such as Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, the late Terry Glenn and Larry Fitzgerald.
The 2022 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List
(Other receivers will be added as their season performances dictate)
Jordan Addison, USC
Hassan Beydoun, Eastern Michigan
Jake Bobo, UCLA
Kayshon Boutte, LSU
Brock Bowers, Georgia
Roderic Burns, North Texas
Jermaine Burton, Alabama
Dante Cephas, Kent State
Tyrese Chambers, FIU
Jacob Cowing, Arizona
Jalen Cropper, Fresno State
Daewood Davis, WKU
Nathaniel Dell, Houston
Josh Downs, North Carolina
Grant DuBose, Charlotte
Zay Flowers, Boston College
Zakhari Franklin, UTSA
Corey Gammage, Marshall
Te'Vailance Hunt, Arkansas State
Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State
Jayshon Jackson, Ball State
Rakim Jarrett, Maryland
Ali Jennings III, Old Dominion
Quentin Johnston, TCU
Nick Mardner, Cincinnati
Michael Mayer, Notre Dame
Marvin Mims, Oklahoma
Puka Nacua, BYU
Isaiah Neyor, Texas
Ryan O'Keefe, UCF
A.T. Perry, Wake Forest
Jayden Reed, Michigan State
Corey Rucker, South Carolina
Trayvon Rudolph, NIU
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
Keytaon Thompson, Virginia
Cedric Tillman, Tennessee
Mitchell Tinsley, Penn State
Parker Washington, Penn State
Xavier Weaver, South Florida
Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia
Quian Williams, Buffalo
Xavier Worthy, Texas