Stedman Bailey Robbed of Biletnikoff Award
By Ken Durbin
The College Football Awards Show on ESPN aired on ESPN tonight. The show gave out all the major awards for college football, from the Outland trophy to the Davey O’Brien trophy. The one award that WVU fans were watching for was the Biletnikoff trophy, given to the top wide receiver in the country.
November 3, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Stedman Bailey (3) reacts on the field before playing the TCU Horned Frogs at Milan Puskar Field. The TCU Horned Frogs won 39-38 in two overtimes. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mountaineer Stedman Bailey was up for the Biletnikoff trophy against USC’s Marquis Lee and Baylor’s Terrance Williams.
Bailey led the nation in receiving touchdowns this season with 23 scores, good for 3rd all time in a single season. He complimented his WVU single season record for scoring with 106 receptions and 1,501 yards.
Those stats were impressive enough to earn Bailey a spot as a finalist for this year’s Biletnikoff trophy, just not impressive enough to win it.
The 2012 Biletnikoff trophy went to USC’s Marquis Lee. The sophomore receiver from USC stacked up 112 receptions for 1,680 yards and 14 touchdowns. Lee was the top receiving option for Matt Barkley this season as Lee was able to create big plays after the catch.
As great as Lee’s season was, it does not seem as impactful as Stedman Bailey’s performance this season.
Sure, Lee bested Bailey by 6 receptions and 179 yards, but Bailey crushed Lee’s touchdown total. Marquis Lee put up a solid 14 touchdowns or just over 1 score a game.
Great production for any receiver, but not phenomenal like Bailey’s production this season. Stedman Bailey was good for just shy of 2 touchdowns a game. No other receiver in the nation came close to the consistent scoring capability of Stedman Bailey, a season that is 3rd best all time.
The most touchdown receptions in a season came in 1998 by Louisiana Tech’s Troy Edwards, who scored 27 that season.
It is too bad the voters for the Biletnikoff trophy passed up the opportunity to recognize one of the best single season performances of all time. Hopefully Stedman Bailey will come back to Morgantown next season to make another run at the award.