Willie Rodriguez’s breakout season at Kentucky has pushed him into the national spotlight, and now the NKY native is officially in the mix for college football’s top honor at his position.
Rodriguez is one of eight semifinalists for the Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s top tight end. After Wednesday’s practice, he said the recognition is bigger than just his own production.
“I just try to have a positive impact in the community and then on the field as well,” Rodriguez said after Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously, it’s not just me.
It’s my quarterback giving me the ball. The coaches calling great plays, and the whole team.
So yeah, it’s awesome.”
What he’s doing on Saturdays is hard to ignore. Against Tennessee, Rodriguez hauled in six catches for 81 yards, and that kind of output is starting to feel routine.
He became the first tight end in Kentucky football history to record at least five receptions in five straight SEC games. His 45 catches through nine games are the most by a UK tight end in that span since James Whalen’s All-American season in 1999.
He came close to adding another highlight against the Vols, but Kentucky fans never saw him finish the play in the end zone at the end of the first half. Some wanted a pass interference flag. Rodriguez didn’t put the blame anywhere else.
“It is what it is. I can’t control any of that.
In my opinion, just the way I am, I think I should have run a better route and had better separation. That should be me all day,” he said.
“But it already happened. Is what it is.
The guy covered it up. I can’t control it now.
So I just had to move on from that.”
Even without that touchdown, Rodriguez’s numbers keep climbing. He has three receiving scores and one rushing touchdown, including two rushing touchdowns in the win at Oklahoma.
That doesn’t count his game-winning two-point play at South Carolina. He’s also set career highs across the board, with 405 receiving yards this season.
His 45 receptions lead all SEC tight ends and rank fifth among tight ends in the FBS.
The pace he’s on is eye-opening. Rodriguez is tracking toward a season that could top Jacob Tamme for the best single-year performance by a Kentucky tight end this century, and that production has him being mentioned as one of the top five tight ends in next spring’s NFL Draft.
His recognition isn’t limited to what he’s done between the lines, either. Rodriguez is also a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award, a candidate for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, and a candidate for the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy.
2026 John Mackey Award Semifinalists
Luke Reynolds (Virginia Tech)
Jelani Thurman (North Carolina)
Kari Ashley (TCU)
Rocky Beers (Oklahoma)
Patrick Overmyer (Houston)
Eli Finley (Louisiana Tech)
Jamari Johnson (Oregon)
Willie Rodriguez (Kentucky)
DJ Vonnahme (Iowa)
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