Utah’s top threat in the pass game, Dalton Kincaid, is not a finalist for the Mackey Award.

The trophy given to college football’s top tight end revealed its three finalists earlier this week. Georgia’s Brock Bowers, Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, and Iowa’s Sam LaPorta were the three choices by a selection committee consisting of 13 members. Despite a résumé that clearly warrants inclusion, Kincaid was left off.

Utah fans and other media members were less than pleased.

Kincaid has stepped up in a major way this year since a season-ending injury to the Utes’ other star tight end, Brant Kuithe. His best game of the year came in one of Utah’s biggest — catching 16 balls for 234 yards and a score in the Utes’ 43-42 win over USC on Oct. 15.

His season numbers are mostly unmatched by the three Mackey finalists, and Kincaid has missed a game. Take a look at the résumés below:

Dalton Kincaid, Utah Brock Bowers, Georgia Michael Mayer, Notre Dame Sam LaPorta, Iowa
Yards/game 77.3 53.8 67.4 54.6
Receptions/game 6.0 3.8 5.6 4.8
Total touchdowns 8 8 9 1
Contested catches 9 9 17 4
Drops 1 3 4 6
PFF receiving grade 92.3 80.9 91.6 82.6

The Mackey Award’s stated criteria for voting reads that for consideration, a player “should be a ‘true tight end’ in the style of John Mackey, play on the interior line with blocking responsibilities and possess the potential to play tight end on the professional level.”

Bowers is viewed as the favorite to win the Mackey Award, which is curious considering a huge piece of his narrative push this season is his positional flexibility. Georgia uses Bowers everywhere, even as a runner. He’s also been named a semifinalist for the award given to football’s best wide receiver and a finalist for the award given to football’s best lineman.

LaPorta is having a fine season for a bad offense, and he drew the ire of many who were left wondering why Kincaid was excluded. Not to suggest any foul play, but it does seem noteworthy one of the 13 members of the selection committee is an Iowa alum.

Here’s some of the reaction to Kincaid’s snub:

https://twitter.com/SteveSandmeyer/status/1598004011323772928?s=20&t=sU7RfNTh_baMDBFcHwAWBg