COLLEGE FOOTBALL: UCF Knights Receiver Ryan O’Keefe Makes 2022 Biletnikoff Award Preseason List

Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes college football's most outstanding FBS receiver

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – UCF standout Ryan O’Keefe is among names on the preseason watch list for the 2022 Biletnikoff Award, as released today by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the award.

Pacing the 2022 Knights’ wide receivers will be O’Keefe (84 rec. for 812 yards, 7 TDs; 16 rushes for 274, 1 TD in 2021; 2nd-team all-American Athletic Conference by vote of league coaches and by Pro Football Network), who caught more passes in 2021 than any UCF player in 15 seasons. O’Keefe capped his junior campaign by winning the MVP award in the Knights’ Gasparilla Bowl win over Florida, thanks to his 255 all-purpose yards.

O’Keefe, from Austin, Texas (Round Rock High School) is a preseason first-team all-AAC pick by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele and a second-team selection by Lindy’s.

The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the college football season’s outstanding FBS receiver. Any player regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot back, and running back) who catches a pass is eligible for the award. As such, the Biletnikoff Award recognizes college football’s outstanding receiver, not merely college football’s outstanding wide receiver.

The semifinalists, finalists, and award recipients are selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of 640 prominent college football journalists, commentators, and announcers, Biletnikoff Award winners, and other former receivers.

Receivers are frequently added to the watch list as their season performances dictate. Actual, not potential, performance is the basis for inclusion on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.

The 2022 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented the Biletnikoff Award trophy by TQC Foundation Chairman Mark Ryan and the banquet keynote speaker at the black-tie Biletnikoff Award Banquet & Celebration at the Dunlap Champions Club, at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

The name Biletnikoff is synonymous with the term receiver.

Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame, was a consensus 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. Fred was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XI.

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