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ACC Places Eight Receivers on the 2024 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the prestigious Biletnikoff Award, released the 2024 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List on Wednesday, August 7. Eight receivers from the Atlantic Coast Conference were named to the watch list.
 
The eight receivers that represent the ACC include Elic Ayomanor of Stanford, Samuel Brown of Miami, Kevin “KC” Concepcion of NC State, Malachi Fields of Virginia, Jacolby George of Miami, Caullin Lacy of Louisville, Jordan Moore of Duke and Xavier Restrepo of Miami.
 
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. Moreover, the Biletnikoff Award is a single season, not career, award.
 
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.
 
The semifinalists, finalists and award recipient are selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of 600 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.
 
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.
 
The Biletnikoff Award candidate eligibility and voting criteria, transparently explicit and detailed, are available for review at BiletnikoffAward.com/criteria.
 
ACC Representatives on the 2024 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List:
 
Name, School, Class, Position
Jordan Moore, Duke, Graduate Student, WR
Caullin Lacy, Louisville, Senior, WR
Samuel Brown, Miami, Fifth-Year Redshirt Junior, WR
Jacolby George, Miami, Senior, WR
Xavier Restrepo, Miami, Fifth-Year Senior, WR
Kevin “KC” Concepcion, NC State, Sophomore, WR
Elic Ayomanor, Stanford, Redshirt Sophomore, WR
Malachi Fields, Virginia, Senior, WR
 
ACC Football Notes
  • The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks, with the return of full-time starters Thomas Castellanos at Boston College, Cade Klubnik at Clemson, Grayson Loftis at Duke, Haynes King at Georgia Tech, Preston Stone at SMU, and Kyron Drones at Virginia Tech, and transfers DJ Uiagalelei at Florida State, Tyler Shough at Louisville, Cam Ward at Miami, Grayson McCall at NC State, and Kyle McCord at Syracuse among others.
    • ACC had 10 quarterbacks named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list, no other conference had more.
    • ACC has the top-ranked group of quarterback transfers in 2024 by CBS Sports.
    • 13 QBs in the league enter the 2024 season with over 20 career touchdown passes and 3,500 career passing yards.
    • Eight quarterbacks from ACC schools are projected to start Week 1 in the 2024 NFL season — 25 percent of NFL teams.
    • Since 2018, the ACC has had at least one quarterback drafted in the first round in five different drafts — the only conference to do that.
  • The ACC’s non-conference schedule continues to be the most challenging in the country.
    • 27 games against Power 4 opponents, including Notre Dame, the most of any conference.
    • Nine non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2023 Associated Press Top 25 Poll, the most of any conference.
    • 10 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2024 Way-Too-Early Top 25, the most of any conference.
  • ACC Features Elite Coaching Leadership
    • Six ACC head coaches were named to the 2024 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl, no other conference had more.
    • Two of the three active coaches to win a national title reside in the ACC - Dabo Swinney led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018. North Carolina’s Mack Brown won a national title at Texas in 2005.
  • The 2024 ACC Football Championship Game will kick off in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on ABC on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
About the Biletnikoff Award
The Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the season’s outstanding college football receiver regardless of position (the award defines receiver as any player who catches a pass hence, tight ends, slot receivers and backs, inside receivers, wide receivers, split ends, and running backs are eligible) by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., (TQCF). The TQC Foundation, Inc., is an independent, charitable organization that was founded in 1994. Past Chairman and Founding Trustee Professor Walter W. Manley II, Founding Trustee L. Thomas Cox, Jr., Founding Trustee Rocky Bevis, and Founding Trustee Bob Teel established the award and the TQC Foundation, Inc., that sponsors it.  Many more trustees have contributed to its development as one of the most prominent awards in college football. The TQC Foundation, Inc., joined the idea of a college receiver’s award to the organization’s vision and created the outstanding award and dynamic organization. The trophy, presented to each winner, is the most beautiful in college football – it has won several national awards for design excellence and aesthetic appeal. Likewise, the website and printed banquet program have been cited nationally for excellence in design.
 
About the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc.
The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, is the creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award. The Foundation administers the Biletnikoff Award, its charitable activities, and the distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee. Foundation Trustees are prohibited from serving on the National Selection Committee. For a full recounting of the Foundation's activities, please consult BiletnikoffAward.com.
 
About the NCFAA
Founded in 1997, the National College Football Awards Association includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.
 
About the ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference, in its 72nd year and 18 members strong, stands as one of the most competitive and revered intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members including Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are dedicated to upholding the league's founding values of academic excellence, athletic competition at the highest level, and integrity. The ACC supports 28 NCAA sports, with 15 for women and 13 for men, and its member institutions span 12 states. In August 2019, the ACC and ESPN partnered to launch ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network exclusively devoted to ACC sports and original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow the ACC on Instagram (@accsports), Twitter (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).