Ateman, Washington Named to Biletnikoff Award Watch List

Oklahoma State wide receivers Marcell Ateman and James Washington have been named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list.

#OKState WRs James Washington and Marcell Ateman named to Biletnikoff Award watch list.

— Mark Cooper (@mark_cooperjr) July 13, 2016

Both Washington and Ateman served as exceptional deep threats in 2015 and should give opposing secondaries nightmares in 2016.

Washington, who was just named to the preseason All-Big 12 team, heads into 2016 as the Big 12’s only returning 1,000-yard receiver. In addition to the impressive yardage total, the second-team All-Big 12 member had a team-high 10 receiving touchdowns in 2015.

Washington has made an impact ever since stepping on campus as a freshman, and now enters his junior season as one of the conference’s most talented wide receivers.

Ateman finally had his breakthrough season as a junior, logging 766 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns last season. Additionally, 11 of his 45 catches were of 20+ yards, including his 82-yard touchdown against TCU, the longest play of OSU’s season. This 6-4 receiver will be a matchup problem for just about every secondary he will face in 2016, and should be able to take advantage of single coverage when the defense is focused on stopping Washington.

Since the Biletnikoff Award’s inception in 1994, the only other Cowboy who has won the award was Justin Blackmon, who was only the second player to ever win the award in back-to-back seasons (2010, 2011).

Other Big 12 players on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List include KD Cannon (Baylor), Shelton Gibson (West Virginia) and Allen Lazard (ISU).