Cade Stover is a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award for the second year in a row.
Stover was named Wednesday as one of nine semifinalists for the award, which honors college football’s best tight end.
John Mackey Award Semifinalist
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 8, 2023
@cstov8 x @JohnMackeyAward pic.twitter.com/AiAxliuiQU
After catching 36 passes for 406 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, Stover has been even more productive in 2023, catching 27 passes for 429 yards and three touchdowns in just eight games this year.
He’s well on his way to becoming the fifth Ohio State tight end ever to surpass 500 receiving yards in a season, and he’s within reach of the school record for single-season tight end receiving yards of 671 set by Billy Anders in 1966. However, that could depend on how quickly Stover returns to full form from the knee injury that sidelined him for Ohio State’s most recent game against Rutgers.
Stover currently ranks fifth among FBS tight ends in receiving yards this season behind Colorado State’s Dallin Holker, Georgia’s Brock Bowers, North Carolina’s Bryson Nesbit and Kansas State’s Ben Sinnott, all of whom are also among the Mackey semifinalists. The other semifinalists are Michigan’s AJ Barner, Penn State’s Theo Johnson, Texas’ Ja’Tavion Sanders and Oregon State’s Jack Velling.
Three finalists for the Mackey Award will be announced on Nov. 28 while the winner will be announced during ESPN’s College Football Awards show on Dec. 8. Bowers is a candidate to become the first-ever two-time winner of the Mackey Award, while Stover strives to become Ohio State’s first-ever winner of the award.
