East Carolina’s Zay Jones came up short in his bid to win the Biletnikoff Award, symbolic of the top receiver in college football. Jones, who set an FBS single season record with 159 catches this season, ended up as a runnerup to award winner Dede Westbrook of Oklahoma. Westbrook, a Heisman Trophy finalist, finished the season with 74 receptions. Northwestern’s Austin Carr was the other finalist for the honor that was announced as part of a made-for-television college football awards show in Atlanta on Thursday. In addition to setting the single-season FBS receptions record, Jones also surpassed former ECU teammate Justin Hardy as the nation’s career leader in catches with 399. He also came up one shy of tying a single-game mark by catching 22 passes in a loss to South Carolina. Although Jones isn’t bringing home the Biletnikoff Award, his day wasn’t a total loss. Earlier Thursday, the senior wide receiver was named a first-team All-America by both The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Foundation. Jones has also been selected to play in the Senior Bowl, the most prestigious of the postseason college all-star games.
