The crop of Big 12 tight ends is pretty sad this year, and it shows on the Mackey Award watch list.
The award is given annually to the nation's top tight end, and just two Big 12 players are on the 33-man list.
Mike Ragone, Kansas
Jordan Najvar, Baylor
Even sadder? One of those two players -- Ragone -- is a transfer from Notre Dame who's never actually played for Kansas and had 11 career catches in five injury-plagued seasons in South Bend.
Ragone is more of a blocking tight end, yes, but still. He came to Kansas with a modest résumé, but he already has a decent case as the league's second-best tight end.
There's a bit of potential this season for guys like Travis Tannahill at Kansas State and one of OU's four incoming tight ends, not to mention juco transfer Blake Jackson at Oklahoma State. Jace Amaro at Texas Tech could make some noise, too.
For now, though, the crop is raw, and it's likely to be a quiet year on the Mackey Award front for the Big 12. Clemson's Dwayne Allen won the award last season. Missouri's Chase Coffman (2009) was the last Big 12 player to win the award.
No current Big 12 teams have a Mackey Award winner since its inception in 2000.
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