Addison becomes Pitt's third Biletnikoff Award winner

Maybe there's something about Pitt football and producing playmaker wide receivers.

Jordan Addison still has a game left to play and already has solidified his sophomore season as one of the best ever by a Pitt wide receiver. His 93 receptions ranked 10th in the country, while his 1,479 receiving yards ranked 3rd and he led the nation with 17 touchdown receptions. 

With four more receptions in Pitt's Peach Bowl against Michigan State, Addison could pass Maurice Ffrench for the most single season receptions in Pitt history. He's still behind Larry Fitzgerald's 1,672 receiving yards and 22 touchdown receptions in 2003, but his stellar 2021 season earned him the same honor bestowed to Fitzgerald for that performance 18 years ago when Addison was announced as the Biletnikoff Award winner Thursday:

Addison boosted his profile for national voters on big stages to end the season, including his 202 receiving yards and four-touchdown performance against Virginia when Pitt clinched the ACC Coastal division and punched its ticket to the ACC Championship. He continued a strong finish before the voting concluded with two more touchdown receptions against Syracuse and then 126 receiving yards against Wake Forest in Pitt's ACC Championship win.

That last game included this ridiculous catch:

There were plenty of talented receivers in college football, but there's no doubt Addison put up the best performance of the year. He caught 6 of his 17 touchdown receptions against pass defenses that finished inside the top 38 units in the country in Syracuse, Western Michigan and Clemson.

Addison, a sophomore, becomes Pitt's third Biletnikoff Award winner since the award originated in 1994. That ties Alabama and Oklahoma State for the most Biletnikoff Award winners in college football history.