Cody Thompson and Diontae Johnson Named to Biletnikoff Award Watch List
7/19/2018 10:01:00 AM | Football
Toledo, Ohio – University of Toledo wide receivers Cody Thompson (Huron, Ohio) and Diontae Johnson (Ruskin, Fla.) were each named to the official watch list for the 2018 Biletnikoff Award on Thursday. The Biletnikoff Award has been presented annually to the nation's top receiver since 1994.
Thompson, fifth-year senior, is on the official Biletnikoff Award watch list for the third consecutive season. He was a first-team All-MAC selection in 2016, catching 64 passes for a then school-record 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns. Last season, he was averaging 126.3 yards per game and 18.7 yards per catch going into the EMU game on Oct. 7 in which he suffered a season-ending injury. He was granted an injury hardship waiver by the NCAA, giving him another chance to complete his senior season.
Johnson, a junior, was on the Biletnikoff Award watch list last season when he caught 74 receptions for a school-record 1,278 yards and 13 TDs. He was a first-team All-MAC selection at both wide receiver and punt returner, as well as a second-team all-league pick at kickoff returner.
Thompson and Johnson, along with senior Jon'Vea Johnson, lead a receivers group that is the first in NCAA-FBS history to have three returning players who have each caught at least 10 TDs in a single season in their career.
The 2018 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented live on Dec. 6, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN. College Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff will present the 2018 Biletnikoff Award winner on the show. The winner will be presented with his trophy at the Biletnikoff Award Banquet at the University Center Club at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019.
Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame, was an All-America receiver at Florida State University, and an All-Pro receiver for the Oakland Raiders. He caught 589 passes for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns in his 14-year Raiders career from 1965 through 1978. Biletnikoff was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XI.
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