Carter, Utter Named to Watch Lists

Nebraska senior tight end Cethan Carter and senior offensive lineman Dylan Utter were named to national watch lists on Wednesday. 

Carter was named to the John Mackey Award Watch List for the nation’s most outstanding collegiate tight end. Utter is a member of the Rimington Trophy Watch List. The award, named in honor of Nebraska two-time Outland Trophy winner Dave Rimington, is given annually to the nation’s top center.

The 6-4, 240-pound Carter is one of the nation’s top returning tight ends for the 2016 season. As a junior, Carter caught 24 passes for 329 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also ran for a 32-yard touchdown at Rutgers, the first rushing touchdown for a Nebraska tight end in school history. Carter was chosen as an honorable-mention All-Big Ten choice in 2015. Carter is one of six Big Ten tight ends on the Mackey Award Watch List.

Utter started all 13 games at offensive guard for Nebraska in 2015, but moved to center this spring and is expected to anchor a young Husker offensive line this fall. The 6-1, 295-pound Utter helped Nebraska rank among the top three in the Big Ten in rushing, scoring and total offense in his junior season. A graduate of Papillion-LaVista High School, Utter is one of eight Big Ten centers named to the Rimington Trophy watch list.

Additional watch lists will be announced through July 15. The Ray Guy Award and Lou Groza Award watch lists will be announced on Thursday morning.