The B1G is no stranger to strong tight end play, and that is seen in the 2021 watchlist for the John Mackey Award.

The Mackey Award is handed out annually to the most outstanding tight end in FBS college football as voted on by a selection committee.

Originally established in 2000, Purdue’s Tim Stratton was the inaugural recipient of the award. In total, five B1G stars have earned the illustrious honor with Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson the most recent B1G winner in 2018. Florida’s Kyle Pitts was the 2020 recipient.

Here is the full list of B1G stars on the preseason watchlist for 2021:

  • Jake Ferguson, Wisconsin
  • Peyton Hendershot, Indiana
  • Sam LaPorta, Iowa
  • Brenton Strange, Penn State
  • Jeremy Ruckert, Ohio State
  • Chigoziem Okonkwo, Maryland
  • Charlie Mangieri, Northwestern
  • Austin Allen, Nebraska

It will be interesting to see how this list plays out and which players perform their way onto – or off – this list during the season.

Which of these tight ends are you most excited to see play?