FB: Borghi is lone RB on Biletnikoff Award Watch List
Washington State junior running back Max Borghi was the only running back among the 55 players named to the 2020 Biletnikoff Award Watch List, The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation announced Thursday.
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.
Cougar wideout Dezmon Patmon was named the 2019 Preseason Watch List before Easop Winston Jr. and Brandon Arconado were added to the list later in the season. Borghi is one of six players from the Pac-12 Conference named to the list.
Borghi earned All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention last season after recording 1,435 all-purpose yards along with 16 total touchdowns, second-most in the league. The Arvada, Colo. native was the only player in a Power 5 Conference with 800+ rushing yards, 550+ receiving yards and 16 total touchdowns after rushing for 817 yards and 11 touchdowns while also catching a team-high 86 passes for 597 yards and five scores.
Borghi posted eight games with 100+ all-purpose yards, led all Pac-12 running backs averaging 6.4 yards-per-carry and led all running backs nationally with 86 catches and 26 missed tackles forced after a catch.
Borghi, the first player in school history with 10+ touchdowns in each of his first two seasons, enters his junior campaign fourth in WSU history with 28 career total touchdowns, tied for fifth in WSU history with 19 career rushing touchdowns and third in school history for catches by a running back with 139.
Wednesday, Borghi was named the 2020 Doak Walker Award Watch List, the award given to the nation’s top college running back.
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.
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.