Staff Report

 

NEW YORK — Marshall senior tight end Gator Hoskins has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2013 John Mackey Award, the school learned Tuesday.

Hoskins caught 10 touchdowns passes for the Thundering Herd last season to lead all tight ends nationally, while snaring 35 passes for 374 yards. The 10 TDs were also second-highest in Conference USA behind East Carolina’s Justin Hardy (11). Hoskins’ 10 TD catches also is a Marshall single-season record for a tight end.

Last season, the Gainesville, Fla., native was added to the Mackey Watch List of after a strong start that saw him grab three touchdowns in a narrow loss at Purdue in September.

At season’s end, he was named All-Conference USA by league coaches, CollegeFootballNews.com, CollegeSportsMadness.com and Phil Steele.

Hoskins was one of 37 named to Tuesday’s list. The Mackey Award is presented annually to the player voted as the nation’s best tight end.

The award recipient is selected by a vote of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee. The 2013 John Mackey Award will be presented Dec. 12 at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show (6 p.m. ET on ESPNU).

Other key dates include the announcement of the Mackey Midseason Watch List on Oct. 14; the 2013 Mackey Semifinalists on Nov. 18; and the 2013 Mackey Finalists on Nov. 25.

Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee John Mackey is considered to be the best to have played the tight end position.

A tight end by whom all others are measured, Mackey was a role model on and off the field as demonstrated by a Super Bowl championship, his commitment to community and his place in history as the first president of the NFLPA.

The John Mackey Award, presented since 2000, lists twelve NFL players as alumni: two-time Super Bowl Champion Daniel Graham (’01), 2006 Super Bowl Champion Dallas Clark (’02), Kellen Winslow II (’03) of the New York Jets, two-time Super Bowl Champion Heath Miller (’04) of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Marcedes Lewis (’05) of the Jacksonville Jaguars, 2008 Super Bowl Champion Matt Spaeth (’06) of the of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fred Davis (’07) of the Washington Redskins, Chase Coffman (’08) of the Atlanta Falcons, Aaron Hernandez (’09), D.J. Williams (’10) of the Green Bay Packers, Dwayne Allen (’11) of the Indianapolis Colts and the 2012 John Mackey Award recipient Tyler Eifert of the Cincinnati Bengals.