By Lydia Jane Allison
COLUMBIA, S.C. (August 7, 2023) – University of South Carolina wide receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. is one of 49 players named to the 2023 preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list, the Tallahassee Quarterbacks Club (TQC) Foundation Inc. announced today.
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.
Wells Jr., a 6-1, 208-pound senior from Richmond, Va., was the Gamecocks’ top receiver a year ago, hauling in 68 passes for 928 yards and six touchdowns, earning first-team All-SEC honors and honorable mention All-America accolades. He was also named the 2022 Steve Spurrier Award winner as the MVP of the Gamecock offense.
The semifinalists, 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.
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 2023 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented the Biletnikoff Award trophy by TQC Founding Trustee and Chairman Walter Manley II, Fred Biletnikoff, and the banquet 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 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.
COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
