To nobody’s surprise, Iowa football tight end TJ Hockenson was officially awarded the John Mackey Award this afternoon after being one of three finalists.
Iowa football tight end TJ Hockenson, a sophomore from Chariton, Iowa, made history this afternoon when he was announced as the winner of the John Mackey Award given to the nation’s tight end.
This caps quite an eventful week for the Hawkeye tight end, and it was something we specifically predicted a few weeks ago after he was named one of three finalists for the prestigious award.
Last week, Hockenson received First Team and Second Team All-Big Ten honors by the coaches and media in addition to receiving the 2018 Kwalick-Clark Big Ten Tight End of the Year Award. Yesterday, he received a slightly less prestigious award (but still a representation of his outstanding play) by garnering All-Big Ten honors from Pro Football Focus.
The announcement of TJ Hockenson winning the 2018 John Mackey Award was made this afternoon at 1:05 EST via twitter.
2018 @JohnMackeyAward Winner is T.J. Hockenson of Iowa! T.J. is the 1st sophomore in history to win award and @HawkeyeFootball becomes the second school in history to claim two Mackey trophies. Check out the live presentation tomorrow at 6pm EST on @ESPNU https://t.co/AYWn37xrqF pic.twitter.com/BXCduZlkgo
— John Mackey Award (@JohnMackeyAward) December 5, 2018
Hockenson becomes the second Iowa football player (after Dallas Clark) to win the award and the first sophomore in the history of the award to win it.
Their couldn’t be a more deserving player than Hockenson who turned in a breakout year this season despite playing in the shadow of preseason All-American and likely top-15 2018 NFL Draft pick Noah Fant.
In twelve games this season, Hockenson had 47 catches for 717 yards and six touchdowns. He also added one touchdown on the ground that came from a fake field goal. Moreover, he served as a key third-down target for junior quarterback Nate Stanley and averaged just a tick under 16 yards per reception this season.
His 717 yards were third best in the nation for a tight end and his 47 catches were seventh best in the nation. What’s more impressive is him doing this within the constraints of the Iowa football offense that isn’t predicated on chucking the ball around.
Congratulations TJ Hockenson on an outstanding season and winning this awesome award!