UCLA Tight End Michael Ezeike Makes John Mackey Award Watch List

Capping off a week full of preemptive honors, one of the Bruins' more unproven veterans is starting to draw a bit of hype.

UCLA football tight end Michael Ezeike was named to the John Mackey Award watch list on Friday. The award is given to the country's top tight end each season.

Ezeike is just the latest Bruin to make a preseason watch list this summer, with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and running back Zach Charbonnet making it onto the Maxwell Award watch list on Monday. Thompson-Robinson then made the Davey O'Brien Award watch list on Tuesday, followed by Charbonnet making the Doak Walker Award watch list on Wednesday, then receiver Jake Bobo made the Biletnikoff Award watch list on Thursday.

Since Chip Kelly took over in 2018, UCLA has had several contenders for the Mackey Award. Caleb Wilson led the nation in receptions that year, then he handed the reins over to Devin Asiasi in 2019. Both Wilson and Asiasi were drafted into the NFL after their breakout seasons in Westwood.

Greg Dulcich had a breakout season of his own in 2020, and he further cemented himself as a top tight end target in 2021. He, too, was NFL-bound, with the Denver Broncos selecting him in the third round in April.

Ezeike was on the roster with all three, first arriving in Westwood as a receiver in 2018. His freshman year, Ezeike caught 12 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

The Upland, California, native played 14 games across his next two seasons, but did not record a single catch in either campaign. In 2021 – his first year as a tight end – Ezeike caught just three passes for 45 yards, scoring a touchdown against Utah.

Heading into his second season at the position, the 6-foot-5, 243-pound Ezeike now has a clear path to the No. 1 tight end role. Michael Martinez is returning as well, but he projected to be more of an extra-blocker than a pure pass-catcher.

USC's Malcolm Epps, Stanford's Benjamin Yurosek, Washington's Devin Culp, Oregon's Terrance Ferguson, Oregon State's Luke Musgrave, Utah's Dalton Kincaid and Colorado's Brady Russell are the other Pac-12 representatives on the watch list.

Marcedes Lewis was the last Bruin to win the Mackey Award back in 2005.

The winner of the Mackey Award will be announced on ESPN in December as part of the annual College Football Awards Show.

Each weekday for the next two weeks, the National College Football Awards Association will announce the watch lists for the rest of its positional awards. The Butkus Award watch list – which honors the top linebackers in the country – and the Jim Thorpe Award watch list – which honors the top defensive backs in the country – will be released Monday morning.

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube

Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA football stories: UCLA Football on Sports Illustrated