University of North Carolina Athletics
Pianalto Named To Mackey Award Watch List
August 16, 2010 | Football
Aug. 16, 2010
Manhasset, N.Y. (August 16, 2010) - University of North Carolina senior Zack Pianalto has been named to the 2010 John Mackey Award preseason watch list, announced Monday by the Nassau County Sports Commission. Given annually to the best collegiate tight end, the award recipient is selected by vote of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee and the 2010 John Mackey winner will be announced on December 9, 2010.
Pianalto, a native of Springdale, Ark., set a school record for most receptions by a tight end with 33 for 334 yards and one touchdown despite missing five games with a foot injury. Pianalto has started 20 games in his three-year career and has 64 catches for 607 yards and two touchdowns.
NFL Hall of Fame member John Mackey is considered to be the best to have played the tight end position. A tight end by whom all others are measured, Mackey was a role model on and off the field as demonstrated by his Super Bowl Championship, his commitment to community and his place in history as the first President of the NFLPA.
The John Mackey Award presented since 2000, lists nine NFL players as alumni: Dallas Clark ('01) of the 2006 Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts, two-time Super Bowl Champion Daniel Graham ('02) of the Denver Broncos, Kellen Winslow II ('03) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, two-time Super Bowl Champion Heath Miller ('04) of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Marcedes Lewis ('05) of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Matt Spaeth ('06) of the of the 2008 Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, Fred Davis ('07) of the Washington Redskins, Chase Coffman ('08) of the Cincinnati Bengals and the 2009 John Mackey Award recipient Aaron Hernandez of the New England Patriots.
The Nassau County Sports Commission, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization created to enhance the quality of life through sports is responsible for the administration of the John Mackey Award and the John Mackey Award Selection Committee. For more information, please visit www.nassausports.org or www.johnmackeyaward.org.
The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association's official website, www.ncfaa.org.
