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PROVO — Many awards feel like they've been around forever; like the award for the NFL player that gets the most sacks — you know, the Deacon Jones Award — wait, that was just created this year.
The Heisman trophy has been around since 1935. In 1990, BYU's Ty Detmer got one — the only one the Beehive State has ever seen.
For the best running back, it's the Doak Walker Award — been around since 1990. BYU's Luke Staley put that one on his mantle in 2001.
The best quarterbacks get the Davey O'Brien Award. BYU's Jim McMahon won the first one in 1981, Steve Young won it again in 1983 and then Ty Detmer was the first back-to-back winner in 1989 and 1990. BYU won four of the first 11 Davey O'Briens.
The most outstanding tight end gets the John Mackey Award. The problem is that nobody has shown any love to the tight end until the turn of the millennia. The first year to honor the big, giant pass-catchers was in 2000.
On Tuesday, Kaneakua Friel from BYU and Utah's Jake Murphy were named to the Mackey watch list. This is not particularly exciting since 35 others have also been named to the list; much like telling my 9-year-old that she's my favorite daughter — competition isn't stiff between her three male siblings.
Nevertheless, being on a list at least generates article fodder, for which I'm grateful.
What surprises me, though, of those 13 winners, none have come from BYU. BYU's tight end tradition is, arguably, as impressive as its quarterback tradition.
Even before the Mackey, BYU had a slew of All-Americans, beginning with "Miracle Bowl" hero Clay Brown in 1980. Gordon Hudson, David Mills and Trevor Molini were All-Americans in the 80s.
Chris Smith was one of Ty Detmer's favorite targets in '89 and '90 and Byron Rex slipped in nicely to have an All-American year in 1992.
Products of the mid-90s gave us Chad Lewis and Itula Mili. Each played eight years in the NFL.
So, once the Mackey came around in 2000, the foundation was set. A rich tradition of tight ends paved the way for Doug Jolley and Gabe Reid, right? Wrong. But since they both made it to the Super Bowl, they're not sweating the snub.
Utah can attest to the misery that Jonny Harline wrought throughout the years. But UCLA's Marcedes Lewis (Jaguars) and Minnesota's Matt Spaeth (Steelers) made sure that the Mackey stayed out Johnny's hands in 2005 and 2006. Although, that was about the only thing that Harline didn't catch.
Then we have the crown jewel of them all: Dennis Pitta. He had the hands, speed, size and toughness — a veritable checklist of tight end greatness.
You can't feel bad about losing to USC's Fred Davis in 2007, as a sophomore. Davis was a 2nd round pick for the Washington Redskins and he's been productive in his five years in the league.
Losing to Missouri's Chase Coffman as a junior in 2008 hurts — but an All-MWC tight end has very little chance against an All-Big-12 tight end, even if Pitta won every eye-test known to man.
In 2009, the award went to Aaron Hernandez.
No hard feelings, Pitta will take his Super Bowl ring over Hernandez's bracelets.
That brings us back to Kaneakua Friel.
The schedule is there. The national spotlight is shining on him and his 36 closest competitors.
Now it's time to close the deal.
Do what All-Americans and All-Pros before him couldn't: win the Mackey.
