Biletnikoff Award's Ten 2017 Semifinalists Announced

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For Immediate Release: November 13, 2017
 
2017 Biletnikoff Award Banquet keynote speaker Bobby Bowden and 2016 Biletnikoff Award winner Dede Westbrook.

 
Tallahassee, FL - The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award, announced the 10 Semifinalists for the 2017 Biletnikoff Award. The secure and confidential electronic voting by the distinguished members of the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee was conducted from November 6th through November 12th, and certified by a prominent CPA firm.  
 
The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the outstanding receiver in college football. Any player, regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot back, and running back) who catches a pass is eligible for the award. As such, the Biletnikoff Award recognizes the outstanding receiver, not merely the outstanding wide
receiver. 
 
The semifinalists, finalists, and award recipient are selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of prominent college football journalists, commentators, and former receivers. Foundation trustees do not vote and have never voted. See: BiletnikoffAward.com/voters  
 
The transparently detailed and explicit criteria for candidate eligibility and voting appear at: BiletnikoffAward.com/criteria  
 
The ten 2017 Biletnikoff Award Semifinalists are as follows: 
 

NAME
SCHOOL
Darren Andrews
UCLA
A.J. Brown Ole Miss
Deontay Burnett
USC
Keke Coutee
Texas Tech
Michael Gallup
Colorado State
Steve Ishmael
Syracuse
Anthony Miller
Memphis
Trey Quinn
SMU
David Sills, V
West Virginia
James Washington
Oklahoma State


The 2017 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented live on December 7, 2017, on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be broadcast 7:00 - 9:00pm (EST) on ESPN. College Football Hall of Famer, Heisman Trophy winner, and Biletnikoff Award voter Desmond Howard will present the 2017 Biletnikoff Award winner on the show. Howard is one of only 5 ends or receivers who has won the Heisman Trophy, joining Larry Kelley, Leon Hart, Johnny Rodgers, and Biletnikoff Award voter Tim Brown.

The correlation between Biletnikoff Award winners and stardom in the National Football League is predictable. Past Biletnikoff Award winners include Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, and Larry Fitzgerald.
 
The 2017 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented the Biletnikoff Award trophy by college and pro football hall of famers Fred Biletnikoff and keynoter Floyd Little before 550 patrons at the Biletnikoff Award Banquet at the University Center Club at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday, February 10, 2018 . The banquet was hailed by 2014 keynote speaker Dick Vermeil, as well as by 2013 keynoter Larry Csonka, as "the best banquet in college sports."

The banquet has featured distinguished keynoters of profound character and accomplishments including Bart Starr, Dick Vermeil, Larry Csonka, Steve Largent, Mike Ditka, Don Shula, Dan Reeves, Archie Manning, Ron Jaworski, Gene Stallings, Bob Griese, Bill Curry, Bobby Bowden, Jim Kelly, Jerry Kramer, Joe Theismann, and Dan Fouts.

The banquet also recognizes the Foundation's scholarship recipients who will be offered by the Foundation over $800,000 in college and vocational scholarships and related benefits in 2018 as in 2016 and 2017. The Foundation's charitable mission is the provision of college and vocational scholarships to North Florida high school seniors who have overcome significant barriers to achieve at the highest academic and extra-curricular levels.


The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., will announce the three finalists on November 20, 2017. For complete details and updates of interest, together with weekly statistics and timely, important news of the Biletnikoff Award candidates, as well as a fan vote and discussion board, please consult the Foundation's highly informative website at BiletnikoffAward.com .
 
The name Biletnikoff is synonymous with the term receiver. Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame, was an 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 Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation (TQC), Inc., created the Biletnikoff Award in 1994.

FanVote and FanForum

Recently, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation opened the 2016 FanVote and FanForum. Every fan may vote once daily on the Biletnikoff Award FanVote page. The aggregate fan tally will be counted as one official vote to determine semi-finalists (ten receivers), finalists (three), and the winner. In the closest contest in years, the FanVote tally provided the one-vote margin of victory for 2013 winner Brandin Cooks of Oregon State. The Biletnikoff Award FanForum consists of fan-created discussion topics that allow sports fans to voice their opinions.  
 
To access the Biletnikoff Award FanVote, go to BiletnikoffAward.com/fan-vote
 
To access the Biletnikoff Award FanForum Discussion Board, go to BiletnikoffAward.com/forum  


The Biletnikoff Award 
Biletnikoff Trophy

The Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the season's
outstanding college football receiver regardless of position (the award defines receiver as any player who catches a pass, hence tight ends, slot receivers and backs, inside receivers, wide receivers, split ends, and running backs are eligible)
by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., (TQCF).

The TQC Foundation, Inc., is an independent, charitable organization that was founded in 1994. Past Chairman & Chairman-elect and Founding Trustee Professor Walter W. Manley II, Founding Trustee L. Thomas Cox, Jr., Founding Trustee Rocky Bevis, and Founding Trustee Bob Teel established the award and the TQC Foundation, Inc., that sponsors it. Many more trustees have contributed to its development as one of the most prominent awards in college football. The TQC Foundation, Inc., joined the idea of a college receiver's award to the organization's vision and created the outstanding award and dynamic organization.

The trophy, presented to each winner, is the most beautiful in college football - it has won several national awards for design excellence and aesthetic appeal.

Likewise, the website and printed banquet program have been cited nationally for excellence in design.

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, is the creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award. The Foundation administers the Biletnikoff Award, its charitable activities, and the distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee. Foundation Trustees are prohibited from serving on the National Selection Committee. For a full recounting of the Foundation's activities, please consult BiletnikoffAward.com .

NCFAA logo 

National College Football Awards Association

 
 
 

The Biletnikoff Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which includes college football's most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 23 awards boast 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit  NCFAA.org to learn more about the NCFAA.
Inquiries:

Ritchie Pickron
Chairman of the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc.
rpickron123@yahoo.com

Professor Walter Manley II
Founding Trustee
Chairman of the Selection Committee
prof.wwmii@comcast.net

Website and Publicity Contact:
Will Stewart
biletnikoffaward@biletnikoffaward.com

Website
www.biletnikoffaward.com

Fan Vote
www.biletnikoffaward.com/fan-vote