Five ACC tight ends selected to Mackey Preseason Watch List

The Atlantic Coast Conference had five tight ends named to the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, which is given annually to the top tight end in the nation.

The total preseason watch list of 46 collegiate tight ends was announced Wednesday by the Friends of John Mackey.

The 2013 Mackey Award winner hailed from the ACC in former Florida State tight end Nick O’Leary. O’Leary was the fourth player from a current ACC school to win the Mackey. He was preceded by Clemson’s Dwayne Allen, the 2011 award-winner; Virginia’s Heath Miller (2004) and Miami’s Kellen Winslow (2003), who earned his honor just prior to the Hurricanes joining the conference.

Additionally, Mackey himself played for a current ACC school at Syracuse (1960-62).

ACC student-athletes on the Mackey Award watch list include Louisville senior Cole Hikutini (Sacramento, Calif.), Virginia Tech redshirt junior Bucky Hodges (Virginia Beach, Va.); Florida State redshirt sophomore Ryan Izzo (Highland Lakes, N.J.); Clemson senior Jordan Leggett (Navarre, Fla.) and Wake Forest redshirt junior Cam Serigne (Ashburn, Va.).

Hodges, Leggett and Serigne are all repeat members from last year’s 2015 Mackey Award preseason watch list.

The award recipient is selected by vote of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee and the 2016 Mackey recipient will be announced on Dec. 7, and then presented live on Dec. 8 at the Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU. All future announcements can be found at www.johnmackeyaward.com.

NFL Hall of Fame member John Mackey is considered to be the best to have played the tight end position. A tight end by whom all others are measured, Mackey was a role model on and off the field as demonstrated by his Super Bowl Championship, his commitment to community and his place in history as the first president of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).

The ACC members of the 2016 preseason John Mackey Watch List are:

Player                                         School                          Ht.         Wt.        Cl.              Hometown

Cole Hikutini                             Louisville                      6-5         240        Sr.               Sacramento, Calif.

Bucky Hodges                          Virginia Tech              6-7         245        Jr.-R           Virginia Beach, Va.

Ryan Izzo                                   Florida State                6-5         243        So.-R         Highland Lakes, N.J.

Jordan Leggett                          Clemson                        6-5         255        Sr.               Navarre, Fla.

Cam Serigne                              Wake Forest                6-3         245        Jr.-R           Ashburn, Va.