Dre Brown Director of Player Personnel | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Dre Brown Director of Player Personnel | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
University of Illinois tight end Cole Rusk has been named to the 2024 watch list for the John Mackey Award, as announced by the Friends of John Mackey and the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) on Friday.
The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, it honors a player who exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, academics, and community values of Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey.
Recent winners of the award include Brock Bowers from Georgia in both 2023 and 2022, and Trey McBride from Colorado State in 2021.
Rusk, who sustained a knee injury during fall camp and is expected to miss the 2024 season, enters his first year at Illinois as a transfer from Murray State with two seasons of eligibility remaining. At Murray State, he was an FCS All-America third-team selection and received All-Missouri Valley Conference honorable mention in 2023. He played in 11 games with 39 receptions for 507 yards and six touchdowns for the Racers.
As of August 9th, other Illini players on various watch lists include Kaden Feagin for the Doak Walker Award; Zakhari Franklin for the Comeback Player Award; Josh McCray for both the Doak Walker and Comeback Player Awards; and Kenenna Odeluga for the Wuerffel Trophy.
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