Auburn football: Seth Williams named to Biletnikoff Award watch list

Junior receiver Seth Williams is now the fourth Auburn Tiger to be named to a preseason award watch list.

Going into his junior season, Auburn football wide receiver Seth Williams is generally seen as one of the best players at his position in the entire country. Because of that, it’s not much of a surprise to see the 6-foot-3, 224-pound wideout be named to the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award which goes annually to the country’s best wide receiver.

Williams came to The Plains in 2018 and made an impact straight away as a true freshman with 26 catches for 534 yards and five touchdowns. The former four-star prospect took his game to the next level this past season increasing those numbers to 59 catches for 830 yards and eight touchdowns.

With another year in Gus Malzahn’s system and another year to build chemistry with Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, many expect Williams could be the Tigers’ first 1,000-yard receiver since 1999.

Overall, the Biletnikoff watch list includes 55 players from schools across the country and includes eight other SEC receivers other than Williams. Last year’s winner of the award, LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase, is back on the list this season after returning for his junior season.

The award has been handed out since 1994 but no Auburn player has ever won the award. Other recent winners of the award include Jerry Jeudy, James Washington and Dede Westbrook. The last Auburn player to be named to the Biletnikoff watch list was Ryan Davis back in 2018.

Williams isn’t the only Auburn player to get preseason recognition this offseason either. The junior is now the fourth Tiger to be named to an award watch list joining K.J. Britt, Bo Nix and D.J. Williams who were named to the Bednarik, O’Brien and Doak Walker watch list’s respectively.

Williams is seen by many as a possible first-round pick in either the 2021 or 2022 draft so the upcoming season will be an important one for the draft stock of the Tigers’ star.

The Tigers also bring back the majority of their receiving talent from the previous season which includes Williams, junior Anthony Schwartz, and Eli Stove who were the team’s top three receivers this past season.