The Mackey Award watch list was released on Friday, and it features a total of eight Pac-12 tight ends as well as one noticeable absence.

Given annually to the nation’s best collegiate tight end, the Mackey Award was established in 2000 and has gone to a Pac-12 tight end four times since (counting Colorado’s Daniel Graham back in 2001). There’s a chance it could return to the league in 2022 given the talent spread across the conference.

The SEC had 10 selections to the 54-man preseason watch list. The Big Ten had eight while the ACC had seven and the Big 12 had five.

Here are the players from the Pac-12 on the Mackey Award watch list:

  • Brady Russell, Colorado
  • Terrance Ferguson, Oregon
  • Luke Musgrave, Oregon State
  • Ben Yurosek, Stanford
  • Michael Ezeike, UCLA
  • Malcolm Epps, USC
  • Dalton Kincaid, Utah
  • Devin Culp, Washington

It’s curious that Utah’s leading receiver in 2021, Brant Kuithe, is absent from the list while several other schools saw multiple tight ends selected to the watch list—Georgia most notably had three. An All-Pac-12 Second Team selection last season, Kuithe was one of the highest-graded tight ends in the league (per PFF) and led all league tight ends in both targets and receptions. His six receiving touchdowns ranked second among all Pac-12 tight ends, behind only Kincaid.

Players can be added to the watch list throughout the season.

Semifinalists are typically announced in early November, with finalists named later that same month. The winner of the award will be announced live on ESPN during The Home Depot College Football Awards show in December.

The full watch list can be found here.