PDF

DOCX

For Immediate Release: December 8, 2023

The 2023 Biletnikoff Award winner:

Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State

Tallahassee, FL - The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the prestigious Biletnikoff Award, announces that receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State is the 2023 winner of the Biletnikoff Award. Tonight, Marvin Harrison Jr. was introduced as the winner on The Home Depot College Football Awards. The other outstanding finalists are All-America receivers Malik Nabers of LSU and Rome Odunze of Washington. Harrison Jr.'s victory by one vote through balloting by the distinguished 650 Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee members is tied for the closest margin in the 30 years history of the Biletnikoff Award and is a tribute to each of the finalists' superlative 2023 season performances.

The secure and confidential electronic voting by the distinguished members of the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee was conducted from November 28 through December 2, and certified by a prominent CPA firm.



The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the college football season's outstanding FBS receiver at any position. 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. Moreover, the Biletnikoff Award is a single season, not career, award.

Marvin Harrison Jr. had 67 catches for 1,211 receiving yards in 2023, ninth-most in college football, and 14 touchdown catches, tied for second. He averaged 101 receiving yards per game and had a contested catch percentage of 43% with a completion percentage of 59%. He ranked third in the Power Five conferences in Pro Football Focus's receiver grading, behind Malik Nabers' top rating. Marvin was named B1G Offensive Player of the Year (the Graham-George Award) and earned that conference's Receiver of the Year honors (the Richter-Howard Award), while leading Ohio State to an 11-1 record and a Cotton Bowl appearance against Missouri. Biletnikoff Award finalists Malik Nabers (86 receptions for 1,546 yards, 129 yards per game, 48% contested catch percentage, and completion percentage of 69%) and Rome Odunze (81 receptions for 1,428 yards, 110 yards per game, 71% contested catch percentage, and completion percentage of 65%) also enjoyed superb seasons. Harrison Jr. played pivotal roles in games against #1 Michigan (5 catches for 118 yards and 1 TD) and #10 Penn State (11 catches for 162 yards and 1 TD). Based on his outstanding performance this season, one in which Ohio State played the 36th most difficult schedule in college football, Marvin Harrison Jr. was named one of the four finalists for the 2023 Heisman Memorial Trophy.

As has been the case for the award's entire 30 years, the three Biletnikoff Award finalists have dominated unanimous and consensus 1st team All-America selections. The trio of Harrison Jr., Nabers, and Odunze together have been 1st team selections on CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, and PFF All-America teams. Harrison Jr. and Nabers were 1st team selections on the USA TODAY All-America team with Odunze as a 2nd team pick. On the CBS Sports team, Nabers was the top selection, with Harrison Jr. and Odunze tied for the second wide receiver spot. On every All-America selector's team, Biletnikoff Award semifinalist and tight end Brock Bowers was chosen as 1st team All-America. In addition, semifinalists Troy Franklin, Malik Washington, and Luther Burden III have filled all of the 2nd team All-America wide receiver positions which have been selected so far.

The Biletnikoff Award's ten semifinalists, three finalists, and award recipient are selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of 650 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.

The Biletnikoff Award candidate eligibility and voting criteria, transparently explicit and detailed, are available for review at BiletnikoffAward.com/criteria.

The correlation between Biletnikoff Award winners and stardom in the National Football League is nearly uniformly consistent. Past Biletnikoff Award winners include Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, Golden Tate, Brandin Cooks, the late Terry Glenn, Ja'Marr Chase, and Larry Fitzgerald.



Marvin Harrison Jr. will be formally introduced by Ohio State coach Ryan Day and presented the Biletnikoff Award trophy by TQC Foundation Founding Trustee and Chairman Walter Manley II, assisted by Fred Biletnikoff and the 1996 Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Danny Wuerffel, keynote speaker, at the black-tie Biletnikoff Award Banquet & Celebration at the Dunlap Champions Club, at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday, March 9, 2024. The banquet, always sold-out and attended by 550 patrons, was hailed by 2014 keynote speaker Dick Vermeil, as well as by 2013 keynoter Larry Csonka, as "the best banquet in college sports."



The banquet has featured distinguished keynoters of profound character and accomplishments including the late Bart Starr, Dick Vermeil, the late Floyd Little, Larry Csonka, Steve Largent, Mike Ditka, the late Don Shula, the late Dan Reeves, Archie Manning, Ron Jaworski, Gene Stallings, Bob Griese, Bill Curry, the late Bobby Bowden, Jim Kelly, Jerry Kramer, Joe Theismann, Dan Fouts, Chad Hennings, Lou Holtz, Aaron Taylor, Archie Griffin, and Drew Pearson.

2023 Biletnikoff Award keynote speaker and Heisman Trophy Winner and National Champion Danny Wuerffel

The 501(c)(3) TQC Foundation's charitable mission is the provision of college and vocational scholarships to North Florida high school seniors who have overcome significant challenges to achieve at the highest academic and extracurricular levels. Participation in sports is not a requirement, but does count as an extracurricular activity. The all-volunteer Foundation has provided over 300 scholarships with benefits of nearly five million dollars through 2023. TQC Foundation Chairman Manley, serving his 26th year as fundraising chairman, recently announced a goal of 10 million dollars to be awarded in scholarships by 2030, doubling the current aggregate total of $5 million awarded through 2023.

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 1st team All-America receiver at Florida State University, the Seminoles' very first, 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.

Fred Biletnikoff was Florida State's first consensus 1st team All-America