Biletnikoff finalists announced, Mayle snubbed...

[britton ransford]

Alabama's Amari Cooper, Colorado State's Rashard Higgins and West Virginia's Kevin White were named finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, which honors the nation's top receiver, the organization announced on Tuesday.

Washington State receiver Vince Mayle, a redshirt senior, was left on the outside looking in despite being tied for the No. 1 in the country with 101 receptions and No. 2 in the nation in receiving yards with 1,404. His nine touchdowns are tied for No. 12 nationally.

Here's a look at the statistics for the three finalists and Mayle:

-Amari Cooper: 90 receptions, 1,349 yards, 15.0 yards per catch, 11 touchdowns
-Rashard Higgins: 77 receptions, 1,447 yards, 18.8 yards per catch, 15 touchdowns
-Kevin White: 98 receptions, 1,270 yards, 13.0 yards per catch, 9 touchdowns
-Vince Mayle: 101 receptions, 1,404 yards, 13.9 yards per catch, 9 touchdowns

I don't think anyone is going to disagree with Cooper and Higgins as finalists, but if you look at the stats, these are the top four wide receivers in the country and the receiver left out, Mayle, has more receptions, yards, yards per catch and as many touchdowns as the receiver that was included, White, who just so happens to play in the same offensive system.

Granted, I don't know whether the voters were able to take into account last weekend's games, so that could have hurt Mayle's chances, as he put up Biletnikoff Award winning numbers against Arizona State, finishing with 15 catches for 252 yards.

(For what it's worth, the fan vote that conducted, which allowed the fans to have some say in the process, had Mayle with a higher percentage of the vote (11%) than White (7%).)

What do you think?



This post was edited on 11/25 4:15 PM by Britton Ransford

 

[JBrown4435]

I hope it makes him play angry on Saturday. Take it out on UW! I know I'm going to miss him next year. There is nothing more entertaining than watching an entire secondary trying to tackle Vince!

 

[cr8zyncalif]

Agree, hope it is motivation.

But he has way to many brain dead drops of easy passes to get to the next level of this award. He has all the tools to play on Sundays and may yet manage to do that. But he simply drops too many passes. Easy passes.

Perhaps the Apple Cup will be his statement game from a reliable hands standpoint. I hope he goes 15 for 15.

 

[GS75]

That's what I was going to say

Too many drops.

 

[Coug1990]

Re: That's what I was going to say

Originally posted by GS75:
Too many drops.

He has over 100 catches. He did drop some, but not many. Plus, can you tell me who many drops the other three had? If not, then your "Too many drops" is irrelevant because for all you know, the other three dropped more passes than Mayle.

 

[CrimsonWazzu]

Re: That's what I was going to say

I think the fact that he plays for a 3-8 team has quite a bit to do with it. Nobody watches our games so I doubt the drops have anything to do with it.

 

[Coug1990]

Re: That's what I was going to say

Originally posted by CrimsonWazzu:
I think the fact that he plays for a 3-8 team has quite a bit to do with it. Nobody watches our games so I doubt the drops have anything to do with it.

This, I could see. It is like the Golden Glove in baseball often goes to an offensive type player who is average at defense. There is a bias. But, while I would have liked to see Mayle win the award, I don't really care much about awards. Mayle should be in the top three, that he isn't tells us what to think about the award.

 

[Glad Cougar]

Re: That's what I was going to say

Originally posted by CrimsonWazzu:
I think the fact that he plays for a 3-8 team has quite a bit to do with it. Nobody watches our games so I doubt the drops have anything to do with it.

I have a feeling you are right, CW. The other 3 guys all play on teams that are ranked or, in the case of West Virginia, were ranked this year....and right or wrong, those who choose the finalists are probably looking at how the great stats translate into team success.

Despite dropping a fair share of passes this year, Vince has been a hell of a receiver for the Cougs. I"m looking forward to one grand finale from him in the AC.

Glad Cougar

 

[YakiCoug]

Originally posted by JBrown4435:
I hope it makes him play angry on Saturday. Take it out on UW! I know I'm going to miss him next year. There is nothing more entertaining than watching an entire secondary trying to tackle Vince!

Yes, incentive.

 

[chipdouglas]

Re: That's what I was going to say

Originally posted by CrimsonWazzu:
I think the fact that he plays for a 3-8 team has quite a bit to do with it. Nobody watches our games so I doubt the drops have anything to do with it.

This is absolutely it. Millions of eyeballs are tuning in every week to catch a glimpse of Amari Cooper making circus catches. CSU gets the benefit of the doubt for rattling off 10 wins, even in the mighty Mountain West Conference. Even WVU has had many spectators this year for a 6-5 record as they have played Alabama, Oklahoma, Baylor, TCU, Texas, K-State and some other current powers. But we're already against the ropes for having a "gimmick" offense; add a 3-8 record and a small market... forget about it.

Drives me crazy though. For voters to constantly snub small school guys, or guys at schools which are struggling, is maybe the worst oversight of all. Completely ignores the contribution of guys who are turning awful teams into serviceable teams. It's not like he's all we've got, but he may be worth a game. Oh, but we need to give it to the Alabama guy who is getting blocks and catching passes from an army of 5-stars.

 

[chinookpirate]

Re: That's what I was going to say

How do we know he wasn't bumped for being a 'system wr'?... that's all we heard from half this board the first half of this season as posters here were tripping over themselves to bash Holliday's accomplishment.

 

[Glad Cougar]

This brings up an interesting question for me. I think a lot of Mayle but from my observations, technically, he doesn't appear to be the best receiver WSU has had over the years. Makes me wonder how Jason Hill or Brandon Gibson might have done in a Mike Leach offense.

Glad Cougar

 

[wazzubruce]

Mayle is an excellent receiver with great size and decent speed. He's done everything expected of him at WSU.

Yes, he has dropped a number of passes and when one looks at the context of the dropped passes, some of them were important drive stopping drops.... I can recall several. Still really should not diminish what he has accomplished, not to mention the we fans have loved watching Vince the past two seasons.

I guess, I go back to thinking it's all media and who's on the biggest stage. I don't need a stinking group of people who really don't have all the facts telling me who's the best..... Vince is one of the best this year, if not the best. Screw them.

 

[CougEd]

He does get bumped for being a system receiver

Cooper has two more TD's in ten few catches, and his team plays more conservatively. Some could argue AC gets doubled team more because of offensive scheme as well.

In the end, QB's , receivers will always get a minus for playing in the system, then get a second minus for not playing for a winner.