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BYU Football: Matt Bushman named to Mackey Award watch list

By Shaun Gordon

NEW ORLEANS, LA - SEPTEMBER 02: Andraez Williams #29 of the LSU Tigers breaks up a pass to Matt Bushman #89 of the Brigham Young Cougars during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 2, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - SEPTEMBER 02: Andraez Williams #29 of the LSU Tigers breaks up a pass to Matt Bushman #89 of the Brigham Young Cougars during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 2, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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BYU Football tight end Matt Bushman is on the Mackey Award watch list. The sophomore will have a chance to become the first Cougar to win the award.

A second BYU Football player has found himself on a major award watch list.

On Friday morning, Cougar tight end Matt Bushman landed on the Mackey Award watch list. The Mackey award is given to the best tight end in the nation. In all, 64 players will start the season on the list.

Earlier in the week, the Doak Walker Award watch list included BYU running back Squally Canada. Canada could become the second Cougar to win that award, following Luke Staley in 2001.

Bushman would be the first BYU player to win the Mackey Award. Compared to most other major college football awards, the Mackey is a fairly new one. It began in 2000, established by the Nassau County Sports Commission.

The sophomore tight end will look to build on a solid freshman campaign. In 2017, Bushman hauled in 49 passes for 520 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disastrous offense, and earned Freshman All-American honors.

He can’t rest on his laurels, though. Under new Offensive Coordinator Jeff Grimes, he’ll be expected to block as well as he runs routes, and that’s an area he’s working to improve. If he wants to be and every down player under Grimes, he’ll have to show a well-rounded skill set.

This isn’t the first preseason accolade for Bushman this summer. Last month, Athlon Sports named him one of the Top 10 tight ends in the country.

Along with Bushman, multiple tight ends that the Cougars will face in 2018 also made the watch list, including John Bates (Boise State), Ray Hudson (California), Zander Neuville (Wisconsin), Dax Raymond (Utah State), Drew Sample (Washington), and Bryce Wolma (Arizona).

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