Three Conference USA players have been selected among the 10 semifinalists for the 2016 Biletnikoff Award, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award, announced Monday.  Louisiana Tech senior Trent Taylor and junior Carlos Henderson are joined by WKU senior Taywan Taylor among the final 10 candidates.  The three C-USA semifinalists are more than any other conference.
 
The Biletnikoff Award recognizes the college football season's outstanding receiver regardless of position. Any player who catches a forward pass is eligible. It is a season, not a career, award. Actual performance on the field, not potential performance, is the basis for inclusion on the watch list and for determination of semifinalists, finalists, and the winner. The award’s semifinalists are selected by vote of the distinguished members of the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee.
 
In his senior season, Trent Taylor continues to impress on a national level as he leads the Bulldogs with 1,343 receiving yards, a mark that ranks second in the FBS, while the Shreveport, Louisiana native has hauled in 10 touchdown catches this season.  With 103 receptions on the year, he becomes the fourth wide receiver in program history to record 100 receptions in a single season and the ninth in C-USA annals.
 
LA Tech’s other threat, Carlos Henderson, leads the nation with 16 receiving touchdowns on the season, while the redshirt junior is seventh in the country with 1,179 receiving yards.  His 20 total touchdowns (two rushing, two kickoff returns) places the New Orleans native second among all FBS players.  Both Taylor and Henderson are ranked second in the country with 164 combined receptions on the season.
 
With both Taylor and Henderson named semifinalists, it marks the first time since the 2012 season that two players from the same team have been named semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award.
 
Taywan Taylor is WKU’s all-time leader in catches (232), receiving yards (3,844) and receiving touchdowns (37), leading all receivers in the state of Kentucky history in all three categories.  This season, the Louisville native has 77 receptions (seventh in FBS) for 1,340 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns (both third in FBS).  Taylor is averaging 17.4 yards per catch (third in the FBS) and leads all players in receptions of 30+, 40+, 50+, 60+ and 70+ yards.  Taylor has seven games of 110+ receiving yards and has seven consecutive games with a receiving touchdown.
 
The 2016 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented live on December 8, 2016, on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be broadcast 7-9 p.m. (EST) on ESPN. College Football Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard will present the 2016 Biletnikoff Award winner on the show. Howard is one of only five ends or receivers who have won the Heisman Trophy, joining Larry Kelley, Leon Hart, Johnny Rodgers, and Tim Brown.
 
The correlation between Biletnikoff Award winners and stardom in the National Football League is uncannily predictable. Past Biletnikoff Award winners include Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, and Larry Fitzgerald.
 
The 2016 Biletnikoff Award winner will be presented his trophy before 550 patrons at the Biletnikoff Award Banquet at the University Center Club at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday, February 18, 2017. The banquet was hailed by 2014 keynote speaker Dick Vermeil, as well as by 2013 keynoter Larry Csonka, as "the best banquet in college sports."
 
The banquet has featured distinguished keynoters of profound character and accomplishments including Bart Starr, Dick Vermeil, Larry Csonka, Steve Largent, Mike Ditka, Don Shula, Dan Reeves, Archie Manning, Ron Jaworski, Gene Stallings, Bill Curry, Jim Kelly, Jerry Kramer, Joe Theismann, and Dan Fouts.
 
The banquet also recognizes the Foundation's scholarship recipients who will be offered by the Foundation over $800,000 in college and vocational scholarships and related benefits in 2017 alone, as in 2015 and 2016. The Foundation's charitable mission is the provision of college and vocational scholarships to North Florida high school seniors who have overcome significant barriers to achieve at the highest academic and extra-curricular levels.
 
The three finalists will be declared, following another vote by the members of the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, on Nov. 22.
 
For complete details and updates of interest, together with weekly statistics and timely, important news of the Biletnikoff Award candidates, as well as a fan vote and discussion board, please consult the Foundation's highly informative website at www.biletnikoffaward.com.
 
The name Biletnikoff is synonymous with the term receiver. Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame, was an All-America receiver at Florida State University, and an All-Pro receiver for the Oakland Raiders. He caught 589 passes for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns in his 14-year Raiders career from 1965 through 1978. Fred was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XI. The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation (TQC), Inc., created the Biletnikoff Award in 1994.
 
The ten 2016 Biletnikoff Award Semifinalists, as selected in voting by the distinguished members of Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, are as follows:
 
Austin Carr, Northwestern
Corey Davis, Western Michigan
Amba Etta-Tawo, Syracuse
Carlos Henderson, Louisiana Tech
Isaiah "Zay" Jones, East Carolina
John Ross, Washington
Taywan Taylor, WKU
Trent Taylor, Louisiana Tech
James Washington, Oklahoma State
Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma