For the second straight year, Tennessee tight end Ethan Wolf has been named to the Mackey Award watch list.
The Mackey Award is given annually to the best tight end in college football. It’s been an award since 2000, and only two Vols have ever been named as semifinalists for the award. Jason Witten (2002) and Luke Stocker (2010) are the only Vol tight ends to be named semifinalists for the award near the end of the regular season.
The winner of last year’s Mackey Award was Michigan’s Jake Butt. As a senior, Butt caught 46 passes for 546 yards and four touchdowns. Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry won the award in 2015. Henry, fellow Razorback D.J. Williams (2010), and Florida’s Aaron Hernandez (2009) are the only SEC players to the award.
Wolf was named to the Mackey Award watch list to start the 2015 season after a solid sophomore campaign. But almost all of Wolf’s numbers dropped last season during his junior year. Wolf caught a career-low 21 receptions for 239 yards and two touchdowns last season.
In his three years with Tennessee, Wolf has hauled in 67 receptions for 752 yards and four scores. He ranks fifth in Vol history among tight ends in receiving yards in a career.
