The season hasn’t gone anywhere near hoped from a team perspective, but Arizona has still managed to see some of its top individuals have the kind of big years that were expected. And two of them have moved a step closer to winning national awards as a result.
Tetairoa McMillan has been named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to college football’s top wide receiver, while Tyler Loop is a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award given to the top placekicker in the nation.
McMillan, a surefire first-round NFL Draft pick next spring, has caught 69 passes for 1,136 yards and seven touchdowns during his junior season. The yardage ranks third in FBS, and for his career he has 3,240 yards to put him within 112 of the UA school record.
Loop, a senior, is 16 of 20 on field goals this season including 5 of 7 on kicks of 50-plus yards. He had two such long ones in last week’s 27-3 win over Houston including a school-record 62-yarder that surpassed the previous mark by five yards.
For his career, Loop is third in school history with 318 points and his 63 field goals are second-most.
McMillan is one of 11 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff, the first from UA since Austin Hill in 2012, while Loop is among 20 left in contention for the Groza. Loop is trying to be the second Arizona player to win the Groza, following Steve McLaughlin in 1994.
Three finalists for each award will be announced Nov. 26, with both trophies handed out at the Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 12.