In a season marred with disappointment and injuries, the silver lining continues to show through. Today a member of the UCLA Football team who can no longer make an impact on the field found out he’s still in the hunt for post-season honors.
Darren Andrews was on the way, in all likelihood, to a 1000 yard season and was enjoying his best season to date as a member of the UCLA Football team. A crafty veteran who had quickly become a leader of the receiver group, Andrews was thriving with the emergence of Caleb Wilson at tight end, the return of Josh Rosen at the QB position and a new offensive coordinator in Jedd Fisch who understands how to deploy his players for maximum effect.
Even when Wilson went down with an injury and was lost for the year Andrews continued to be a reliable weapon for the Bruins in the passing game. It wasn’t just his sure hands or his run after the catch ability that made Andrews so highly valued. It was his ability to move the chains consistently, make the big catch when it was needed most and win one on one battles against defenders.
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His 10 touchdowns and 773 yards are career highs despite playing in three fewer games this year. Clearly the voters of the Biletnikoff Award took notice because despite the season ending knee injury he suffered against Utah, he has been voted as a semifinalist for the award. Check out the full list of semifinalists here.
The Biletnikoff is awarded to the top receiver in college in any given season with some big names being past recipients.
While it is likely that he won’t win it since he won’t be able to compete the final leg of the UCLA Football season, the votes serve as a testament to the type of season he was having before the injury.
The news of him being named a semifinalist should also remind people of the job that new WR coach Jimmie Dougherty is doing with the Bruin receivers. Yes much of the heavy lifting was done by Andrews on the field but the entire WR group has looked better this season and he deserves credit for the reduction in drops and improved play overall.
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Something like this doesn’t help the sting that UCLA Football fans feel about losing him to injury. The Bruins do have talented players on the roster but you can’t replace a guy like Andrews at this point in the season. That’s too bad because the Bruins could certainly have used his talents on Saturday when they take on the USC Trojans.