New York, N.Y. (October 8, 2014) - The John Mackey Award has named Alex Welch of Miami University as the John Mackey Tight End of the Week. The Mid-American conference senior helped the Miami Redhawks end a 21-game losing streak with an outstanding overall performance. Welch and his team overcame a 27-point deficit as four of his five catches resulted in first downs accounting for 11% of Miami¹s total offense and 14% of their passing total on the day. It is also worth mentioning that Welch stays in a lot to help a young offensive line (first four games on the season they allowed 18 sacks but over the last two just 2). Honorable mentions for this week's John Mackey Tight End of the Week include E.J. Bibbs of Iowa State, Evan Engram of Mississippi, Connor Hamlet of Oregon State and Ben Koyack of Notre Dame.

The 2014 John Mackey recipient will be announced on December 10, 2014. Other key dates include the announcement of the Midseason Watch List on October 13, 2014, the Mackey Semi-finalists on November 17, 2014 and the Mackey Finalists on November 24, 2014. All future announcements can be found on our official Twitter account:@JohnMackeyAward and our official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JohnMackeyAward.
   
The John Mackey Tight End of the Week is an honor distinct and different from the annual John Mackey Award. This weekly honor was started in 2004 to draw attention to individual play by Tight Ends during the active season. The Tight End of the Week acknowledgment does not have a direct bearing on the final John Mackey Award selection process. 
 
The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Visit www.ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.

The Friends of John Mackey is responsible for the administration of the John Mackey Award and the John Mackey Award Selection Committee. Please visit www.johnmackeyaward.com for all Mackey Award related information.