COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou RS sophomore Albert Okwuegbunam (Springfield, Ill.) is one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award, announced Monday. The award is given nationally to the nation's top tight end. Mizzou is no stranger to the John Mackey Award as Okwuegbunam is the fourth Tiger to be a finalist for the national award, joining 2008 winner Chase Coffman, 2010 finalist Michael Egnew and 2007 finalist Martin Rucker.

Okwuegbunam, who was the 2017 All-SEC Second Team TE by both the media and Associated Press, entered the season on the Mackey Award Watch List and has not disappointed. He has 43 catches on the year, second-most on the team, despite missing the last two games with an injured shoulder. He has 466 yards and six scores and now has 17 career touchdown grabs, seventh-most in Mizzou history.

Against Memphis earlier this season, Albert O got loose and hauled in six catches for a career-best 159 yards and three scores. It was his fifth career multiple TD game, matching him for the most ever by a Mizzou TE with Coffman. Okwuegbunam tallied his five such games in just 20 career contests while Coffman needed 51 games to tally five games with multiple TD grabs. His 17 career TD grabs are already third-most ever by a Mizzou TE, trailing only Coffman (30) and Rucker (18).

The 2018 John Mackey Award winner will be announced to the public on Dec. 5 and then presented to the recipient live Dec. 6 on ESPNU at the Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. The Mackey winner will then attend the main college awards show that follows which is aired live on ESPN. This is the ninth year that the Mackey Award presentation will be live on the Red Carpet Show.

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