Hurst Named Semifinalist for the Mackey Award

Nov. 14, 2017

University of South Carolina junior Hayden Hurst is one of eight college football players named as a semifinalist for the 2017 John Mackey Award, the Friends of John Mackey announced today.

The eight semi-finalists were determined by confidential balloting of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee. Given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end, the 2017 John Mackey Award recipient will be announced on December 6, 2017 and presented live on December 7, 2017 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show: 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Other key dates include the announcement of the 2017 Mackey Finalists on November 20, 2017. All future announcements can be found at www.johnmackeyaward.com and on our official twitter account: @JohnMackeyAward.

NFL Hall of Fame member 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 his 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, recognizes fourteen alumni that have played in the NFL: two-time Super Bowl Champion Daniel Graham (’01), 2006 Super Bowl Champion Dallas Clark (’02), Kellen Winslow II (’03), two-time Super Bowl Champion Heath Miller (’04), Marcedes Lewis (’05) of the Jacksonville Jaguars, 2008 Super Bowl Champion Matt Spaeth (’06), Fred Davis (’07), Chase Coffman (’08), D.J. Williams (’10), Dwayne Allen (’11) of the New England Patriots, Tyler Eifert (’12) of the Cincinnati Bengals, Austin Seferian-Jenkins (’13) of the New York Jets, Nick O’Leary (’14) of the Buffalo Bills, Hunter Henry of the Los Angeles Chargers and 2016 John Mackey Award recipient Jake Butt of the Denver Broncos.

The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 23 awards boast over 745 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.

The Friends of John Mackey are responsible for the administration of the John Mackey Award and the John Mackey Award Selection Committee. Please visit www.johnmackeyaward.com for all John Mackey Award related information.

2017 John Mackey Award Semi-Finalists (Listed alphabetically):

Mark Andrews (JR, Oklahoma)

Adam Breneman (SR, UMass)

Troy Fumagalli (SR, Wisconsin)

Mike Gesicki (SR, Penn State)

Chris Herndon (SR, Miami)

Hayden Hurst (JR, South Carolina)

Jaylen Samuels (SR, NC State)

Cam Serigne (SR, Wake Forest)

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