Pre-season Pirate Football couldn’t look better for a handful of guys on this Pirate lineup. A total of six Pirates have been named to eight different pre-season watch lists. To highlight a few, let’s take a look at Biggers, Jones and Harris.
Senior linebacker Zeek Bigger has been nominated for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Butkus Award and the Rotary Lombardi Award. All of which are given to the nation’s top defensive players.
Following with the lucky number three, junior inside receiver Isaiah Jones has also been put on three watch lists which include, the Fred Biletnikoff Award for most outstanding receiver in college football, the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and the Paul Hornung Award. These awards and honors are given to the nation’s top offensive players.
For Jones, being nominated for the Biletnikoff Award is a big deal because his brother Cayleb, a receiver for the University of Arizona, also made the list. Making it a family affair!
Jones boasted about his Arizona wide receiver brother as a player, so to him, the fact that he was good enough to be on list with him was truly an “honor”.
According to Jones his dad was actually the first one to call him and tell him they were both in the running, of course after their phone conversation he immediately called his brother Cayleb!
For one player in particular, the amount of nominations weren’t as important as to what the awards and its history meant to the team.
For instance, offensive lineman Ike Harris was put on the Outland Trophy watch list. There hasn’t been a Pirate on the Outland Trophy list since 2013 I got to sit down with him for a minute and asked him how it felt knowing that he is the first since 2013…His answer, “Blessed, blessed, blessed.”
Everyone will for sure be keeping an eye on these guys this season. Go Pirates!
