University of Iowa senior wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette has been named to the 2020 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List. Presented by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, the award is presented to college football’s most outstanding FBS receiver.
Smith-Marsette (6-foot-1, 186-pounds) led Iowa in receiving yards and touchdown receptions in 2019, while ranking second on the team in receptions (44-722-5). The Newark, New Jersey, native led the Big Ten and ranked fourth in the nation with a 29.6 yard kickoff return average on 17 returns last season.
In Iowa’s 2019 Holiday Bowl win over USC, Smith-Marsette became only the second player in school history to score a receiving, rushing, and kickoff return touchdown in the same game, earning the Holiday Bowl Offensive Most Valuable Player award.
Smith-Marsette was named a preseason first-team All-America selection as a return specialist by Phil Steele, and a preseason first-team All-Big Ten return specialist and a fourth-team All-Big Ten wide receiver byAthlon Sportsearlier this summer.
The Biletnikoff Award is named after pro and college football Hall of Fame receiver, Fred Biletnikoff, who was a consensus All-American at Florida State and an All-Pro for the Oakland Raiders.
Semifinalists for the award will be announced Nov. 16, followed by three finalists being announced Nov. 23. The winner will be announced Dec. 10 live on ESPN at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
Iowa’s adjusted 2020 Big Ten Conference schedule is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.