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Pitt wide receiver Taysir Mack has been thriving in new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple’s system and benefiting from the improved play of Kenny Pickett, and as a result, he now finds himself on pace for his first 1,000-yard season. In recognition of his standout performance, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation announced Mack had been added to the Biletnikoff Award watch list on Wednesday.
Pitt WR Taysir Mack has been added to the prestigious Biletnikoff Award Watch List!
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) October 9, 2019
@BiletnikoffAwrd
https://t.co/k8hj7UOXxm#H2P pic.twitter.com/dTSnUjvllW
The Fred Biletnikoff Award is given to the top collegiate receiver in the country annually, and two Pitt pass-catchers have won it since it was first awarded in 1994. Antonio Bryant won the honor in 2000, after amassing 1,302 yards and 11 touchdowns in one season, and Larry Fitzgerald won the Biletnikoff in 2003 after a 1,672-yard, 22-touchdown campaign.
Mack was one of four new players added to the list on Wednesday, along with Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman, Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith and Wake Forest wide receiver Scotty Washington. Award watch lists are announced before the start of the season, but there are cases in which players can be added to the lists midseason. The circumstances under which midseason additions are made are noted on the eligibility page of the Biletnikoff website.
”The foundation, when appropriate, will add receivers to the Biletnikoff Award watch list without prejudice up to the commencement of voting by the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee," the policy states. "Receivers are added to the watch list during the season based on performance. Actual, not potential, performance is the basis for inclusion on the Biletnikoff Award watch list.”
As of the date of his addition to the watch list, Mack ranks 13th in the country in receiving yards, with 511 yards on 41 receptions. That total also ranks eighth among Power Five receivers and second among ACC receivers, with Wake Forest wide receiver Sage Surratt ahead of him by four yards. However, Mack is 332 yards behind Omar Bayless of Arkansas State, who leads the nation with 843 yards.