Colorado’s Nelson Spruce makes a catch and outruns Hawai’i’s Dee Maggitt (23) in for a touchdown during a game against Hawai’i at Folsom Field in Boulder on Sept. 20, 2014. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)
Colorado junior receiver Nelson Spruce was named Monday as one of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award which is bestowed to the nation’s most outstanding receiver.
Spruce (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) has 99 receptions for 1,091 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Colorado State sophomore Rashard Higgins, who tops the nation with 142.2 receiving yards per game, also is a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist.
Nationally, Spruce ranks first in receptions per game (9.9), ninth in receiving yards per game (109.1), seventh in receiving yards and tied for fourth in touchdown receptions.
“(Spruce) has been a very bright spot,” CU coach Mike MacIntyre said Monday. “He’s played really well, and has done a lot of great things for us. I definitely think he is deserving.
“He also does all the things academically, off the field, he’s a team captain, so I think he’s what the Biletnikoff Award looks for.”
Joining Spruce and CSU’s Higgins as Biletnikoff Award semifinalists are Nelson Agholor of Southern California, Amari Cooper of Alabama, Rashad Greene of Florida State, Tyler Lockett of Kansas State, Vince Mayle of Washington State, Sterling Shepard of Oklahoma, Jaelen Strong of Arizona State and Kevin White of West Virginia.
