Mackey Award semi-finalists include Mundine of Kansas

Kansas senior Jimmay Mundine, who caught seven passes for 137 yards and one touchdown Saturday in a 34-30 loss to No. 4 TCU, was named one of eight semi-finalists for the 2014 John Mackey Award on Monday.The award is given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end.

Mundine, a 6-2, 240-pound senior from Denison, Texas, has 40 receptions for 537 yareds and three touchdowns this season.

Other semi-finalists are: E.J. Bibbs, Iowa State; Evan Engram, Mississipi; Ben Koyack, Notre Dame; Nick O’Leary, Florida State; Jean Sifrin, Massachusetts; Clive Walford, Miami; and Maxx Williams, Minnesota.

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 2014 John Mackey Award recipient will be announced on December 10, 2014 and presented live on December 11, 2014 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show: 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The 2014 Mackey finalists will be announced on November 24, 2014.

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, lists thirteen alumni to 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) of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Marcedes Lewis (’05) of the Jacksonville Jaguars, 2008 Super Bowl Champion Matt Spaeth (’06) of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fred Davis (’07), Chase Coffman (’08) of the Tennessee Titans, Aaron Hernandez (’09), D.J. Williams (’10),  Dwayne Allen (’11) of the Indianapolis Colts, Tyler Eifert (’12)  of the Cincinnati Bengals and Austin Seferian-Jenkins (’13) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.