John Mackey Award Watch List: Odds For Best Tight End of 2024-25 College Football Season

Fact Checked by Jim Tomlin

As the 2024 college football season at Michigan sportsbooks reaches its apex, it’s worth wondering which standout at one of the most overlooked offensive positions is best suited to grab a marquee award.

The honor in question is the yearly John Mackey Award, given out to the best tight end in the country. Georgia’s Brock Bowers took home the honor in 2022 and 2023 after hauling in 118 passes for 1,656 yards and 13 touchdowns before jet-setting his way to the NFL.

So we have been breaking down odds on which tight end has the best shot at being the heir apparent to Bowers by taking home the Mackey Award. These odds are exclusive to BetMichigan.com, the home of the best Michigan sports betting promos.

2024-25 John Mackey Award (Best TE) Winner Odds

Tight End

College

Odds

Percentage Chance

Tyler Warren

Penn State

+450

18.2%

Harold Fannin Jr. 

Bowling Green

+600

14.3%

Brant Kuithe

Utah

+1000

9.1%

Holden Willis

Middle Tennessee State

+1250

7.4%

Tanner Koziol

Ball State 

+1250

7.4%

Oronde Gasdsen II

Syracuse

+1250

7.4%

Eli Stowers

Vanderbilt

+1500

6.3%

Jake Briningstool 

Clemson

+1500

6.3%

Colston Loveland

Michigan

+1500

6.3%

RJ Maryland

SMU

+2000

4.8%

The Field

-

+1000

9.1%

This season, tight ends such as Tyler Warren out of Penn State, Harold Fannin Jr. of Bowling Green and Utah’s Brant Kuithe are among the tight ends that we have atop our Mackey Award odds board through nine weeks of the 2024 college football season. There are plenty of other contenders, too.

Check out our Michigan Wolverines football betting guide as well. Michigan TE Colston Loveland (pictured at top) has 42 receptions for 411 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Wolverines in all three categories, even after he missed a game. The junior is back on our board this week at +1500 odds.

Who Are The Mackey Award Leaders in 2024?

The leader in the Mackey Award clubhouse is a senior from Virginia who has set the all-time record for most receptions by a tight end in FBS history.

Warren gashed USC for 224 receiving yards on 17 catches in the Nittany Lions’ 33-30 overtime victory on Oct. 12 in Los Angeles. That matched the Big Ten high for receptions in a game, last done by Joe Harvey of Northwestern in 1982 against Michigan. The Nittany Lions have +400 odds to win the Big Ten with DraftKings Michigan Sportsbook, behind only Oregon (+105) and Ohio State (+160).

Through Penn State’s first seven games, Warren has hauled in 47 catches for 559 yards and four touchdowns, pacing an offense that ranks in the top 30 nationally in passing yards (266.6/30th), rushing yards (197.1/22nd) and points per game (33.3/26th). Warren's Nittany Lions face a colossal clash of the titans at home against Ohio State on Saturday.

His productivity has Warren atop our Mackey Award odds board with +450 odds – that would translate to an 18.2% implied probability at Michigan sports betting apps. He ranks ahead of Fannin (+600), who has jumped to second on our board.

The Bowling Green standout has 66 catches this season for 946 yards and six touchdowns. He's third in the country among all players in receptions and tops among tight ends; his yardage puts him fourth overall and again first among tight ends.

Kuithe (+1000), a sixth-year senior, leads the Utes in touchdown catches with five, and has hauled in 31 passes for 482 yards.

Check out our Michigan State Spartans football betting guide for more Big Ten insight geared toward readers in the Great Lakes State.

USA Today Network photo by Junfu Han

Author

Christopher Boan

Christopher Boan is a staff writer for BetMichigan.com. He has covered sports and sports betting for more than seven years and has worked for publications such as ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.

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