TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (August 7, 2024) – Washington State wide receiver Kyle Williams was named to the 2024 Biletnikoff Award Watch List, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation announced Wednesday.
 
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. Tight end Kyle Pitts was a finalist in 2020 and other tight ends were semifinalists in prior years. Moreover, the Biletnikoff Award is a single season, not career, award.
 
Williams is one of 50 pass catchers up for the award given to the season's most outstanding FBS receiver. The senior Inglewood, Calif. caught 61 passes for 843 yards and six touchdowns while starting all 12 games in his first season at WSU last season. Williams had a season-high 174 yards and a touchdown in the win over No. 14 Oregon State, had five catches for 102 yards at No. 9 Oregon and caught five passes for 85 yards and a touchdown in the Apple Cup at No. 4 Washington. Williams enters his senior season fourth in the country among active players with 2,411 career receiving yards, seventh with 178 career receptions and No. 15 with 15 career touchdowns.
 
The semifinalists, finalists, and award recipient are selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of 600 prominent college football journalists, commentators, announcers, Biletnikoff Award winners, and other former receivers. Foundation trustees do not vote and have never voted. For a list of voters, please see BiletnikoffAward.com/voters.
 
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 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.
 
Kelly Akharaiyi, Mississippi State
Nic Anderson, Oklahoma
Andrew Armstrong, Arkansas
Lawrence Arnold, Kansas
Pofele Ashlock, Hawaii
Sean Atkins, USF
Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
Demeer Blankumsee, Memphis
Samuel Brown, Miami
Luther Burden III, Missouri
Kevin Concepcion, North Carolina State
CJ Daniels, LSU
Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
Mitchell Evans, Notre Dame
Malachi Fields, Virginia
Jacolby George, Miami
Tre Harris, Ole Miss
Ashtyn Hawkins, Baylor
Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Joey Hobert, Texas State
Tory Horton, Colorado State
Kobe Hudson, UCF
Travis Hunter, Colorado
Daniel Jackson, Minnesota
Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
Tez Johnson, Oregon
Josh Kelly, Texas Tech
Caullin Lacy, Louisville
Robert Lewis, Auburn
Colston Loveland, Michigan
Ja'Mori Maclin, Kentucky
Eric McAlister, TCU
Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
Kris Mitchell, Notre Dame
Jordan Moore, Duke
Jaylin Noel, Iowa State
Rashod Owens, Oklahoma State
Will Pauling, Wisconsin
Brennan Presley, Oklahoma State
Jamaal Pritchett, South Alabama
Xavier Restrepo, Miami
Kaedin Robinson, App State
Jalen Royals, Utah State
Elijah Sarratt, Indiana
Roc Taylor, Memphis
LaJohntay Wester, Colorado
Squirrel White, Tennessee
Ricky White, UNLV
Kyle Williams, Washington State