MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin tight end Jacob Pedersen has been named to the John Mackey Award preseason watch list for the second consecutive season.
Pedersen, a senior, is among 37 players on the list for the award, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding tight end. He also made the preseason watch list last season after being named a semifinalist for the award as a sophomore in 2011.
The Badgers have a history of producing top-level tight ends, and Pedersen is just the latest in a string of UW players to make the preseason watch list. Other Wisconsin tight ends to have made the Mackey Award watch list in recent seasons are Travis Beckum (2007 and 2008), Garrett Graham (2009) and Lance Kendricks (2010).
Last season, Pedersen caught 27 passes for 355 yards and scored four touchdowns. He went on to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors and was named the Kwalick-Clark Big Ten Tight End of the Year. As a sophomore in 2011, he caught 30 passes for 356 yards with eight touchdowns and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors.
Pedersen, who has 14 career touchdown catches, needs one more touchdown to tie Pat Richter and Lee DeRamus for ninth in Badgers history.
Pedersen is one of seven Big Ten tight ends on the watch list, joining Indiana's Ted Bolser, Penn State's Kyle Carter, Iowa C.J. Fiedorowicz, Michigan's Devin Funchess, Ohio State's Jeff Heuerman and Purdue's Gabe Holmes.
A midseason watch list for the Mackey Award will be announced on Oct. 14, followed by the semifinalist announcement on Nov. 18 and finalist announcement on Nov. 25. The 12th edition of the award will be presented Dec. 12 during The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU.
The Mackey Award is named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Famer John Mackey, who won Super Bowl V with the Baltimore Colts and was a five-time Pro Bowl selection between 1963 and 1968.
Pedersen is the fourth Wisconsin player to be named to a preseason award watch list thus far. Wide receiver Jared Abbrederis (Paul Hornung Award), linebacker Chris Borland (Bednarik Award) and running back James White (Maxwell Award) also are preseason award candidates.
Follow Jesse Temple on Twitter
