The 56-pound Biletnikoff trophy Jeremiah Smith wants most
College football's receiver award has a Tallahassee sculptor, an Oscar foundry and a scholarship fund behind it. Here is how it works, how the 2026 winner gets picked, and why Smith ranks it above the Heisman.
A wildlife artist sculpted it. Jonathan Livingston of Tallahassee, mostly self-taught as a sculptor, read books on anatomy and built the figure "from the muscle out," finishing in 89 days (Biletnikoff Award). I did not expect the best trophy story in college football to start with someone better known for animals.
The finished piece is an 18-inch figure in antique gold, a receiver in a mid-1960s uniform stretching for a ball just past his fingertips. It sits on a polished marble base a foot across, and the whole thing weighs 56 pounds. It was cast by R.S. Owen & Co., the Chicago foundry that also makes the Academy Awards and the Emmys.
What the award actually honors
The Biletnikoff Award was created in 1994 and goes each year to the most outstanding receiver in major college football. It is presented by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, and it is named for Fred Biletnikoff, who played at Florida State before a pro career with the Oakland Raiders and the Montreal Alouettes (Wikipedia).
On paper, any FBS player who catches a forward pass is eligible, which technically includes tight ends and running backs. In practice it has gone to a wide receiver every single year. We think that small gap between the rule and the record is charming. The door is open; nobody else has walked through it.
How the 2026 winner gets picked
A national selection committee of more than 600 journalists, broadcasters, commentators and former players does the voting. The foundation publishes its calendar in advance:
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| August 19, 2026 | Preseason watch list |
| September 23, 2026 | Fan vote opens |
| November 16, 2026 | Semifinalists announced |
| November 24, 2026 | Three finalists announced |
| December 11, 2026 | Winner revealed at The Home Depot College Football Awards |
| March 20, 2027 | Ceremony at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee |
The schedule lists a fan vote, but the pages I read do not say how much, if anything, it counts toward the result (Biletnikoff Award). Treat it as a way to join in, not a lever.
Why Jeremiah Smith ranks it above the Heisman
Smith has been direct about this. In August he told cleveland.com's Stephen Means that he wants both trophies, and then drew a clear line between them:
I know it really comes down to quarterbacks. So I gotta have an outstanding season where they can't deny me.
In the same conversation he said "the Biletnikoff is the biggest thing I really want." He has reason to feel it has slipped away. As a freshman in 2024 he set national freshman records and was not among the three finalists; Colorado's Travis Hunter won. In 2025 he was a finalist alongside UConn's Skyler Bell and lost to USC's Makai Lemon (Biletnikoff Award).
The Ohio State thread
Only two Buckeyes have won it: Terry Glenn in 1995 and Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2023. Glenn keeps turning up in Smith's story. On September 26, 2026, when Smith caught four touchdowns against Illinois, he joined a four-touchdown club and a 200-yard club at Ohio State, and Glenn is a member of both, having gone for 253 yards in 1995, the same season he won this trophy (Eleven Warriors). If Smith wins in December, the two will share a line in three different record books.
There is one more detail most coverage skips. The foundation's charitable mission is scholarships for North Florida high school seniors, with a goal set in 2022 of awarding $10 million in total by 2030. Whoever takes home the 56-pound figure in March, some of the attention it draws ends up paying for somebody's first semester.
For who Smith is beyond the award race, read our profile; for why this is his last college shot at it, see the draft-rule explainer.
Sources
Every factual claim above traces to one of these. Links open in a new tab.
