Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State, Makai Lemon of Southern California and Skyler Bell of UConn are the 2025 Biletnikoff Award finalists, announced Tuesday.
The award is presented annually to the season’s most outstanding FBS receiver at any position.
The surprise of the list is Bell, who had a breakout senior season for the Huskies.
UConn (9-3) is finished for the regular season, but Bell leads the nation in receptions (101), receiving yards (1,278) and receiving touchdowns (13). He ranks second to Danny Scudero of San Jose State with an average of 106.5 yards per game.
While Ohio State and USC have turned out multiple winners of individual awards, Bell is the first UConn player in program history to earn finalist status for one of college football’s top awards.
Smith, a sophomore, ranks 11th in the nation in receptions (69) and 13th in receiving yards (902). He is tied for fifth place with 10 TD catches. The 11-0 Buckeyes, ranked No. 1 in the nation, will meet No. 18 Michigan in their annual rivalry game to conclude the regular season on Saturday.
Lemon will have one final regular-season game to improve his numbers on Saturday when No. 15 USC (8-3) hosts crosstown rival UCLA.
The junior stands third in FBS with 1,124 yards on 78 catches, the latter being sixth in the nation. He has added 10 touchdowns and averages 102.2 yards per game, just behind Bell on the list.
The winner will be announced Dec. 12 during the College Football Awards Show on ESPN.
