Gophers tight end Maxx Williams on Monday was named one of eight semifinalists for the John Mackey Award, which given annually to the nation's top tight end.
Williams, a third-year sophomore from Waconia, has 25 receptions and leads all Big Ten tight ends in receiving yards (373) and receiving touchdowns (seven). He has accounted for 27.7 of all the Gophers' receiving yards.
The other seven semifinalists are E.J. Bibbs (Iowa State), Evan Engram (Ole Miss), Ben Koyack (Notre Dame), Jimmay Mundine (Kansas), Nick O'Leary (Florida State), Jean Sifrin (U Mass) and Clive Walford (Miami).
Former Gophers tight end Matt Spaeth won the Mackey Award in 2006. This year's finalists will be announced Nov. 24, with the trophy presented Dec. 11.
Game time set
The game time for the Gophers' game at Wisconsin on Nov. 29 has been set for 2:30 p.m. That will snap a string of six consecutive 11 a.m., games for Minnesota, including this Saturday's game at Nebraska.
