USC junior wide receiver Makai Lemon has won the Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top college wide receiver, it was announced Friday during the College Football Awards show.
Lemon, who beat out Ohio State sophomore Jeremiah Smith and Connecticut senior Skyler Bell for the honor, is the second Biletnikoff Award winner in USC history, joining Marqise Lee (2012).
The first-team All-American finished the regular season leading all Power Four conference players in receiving yards (1,156) and receiving yards per game (96.3). He also led the Big Ten Conference in receptions per game (6.6), yards after the catch (502) and is tied for the most TD catches (11). According to Pro Football Focus, Lemon is the highest-graded wide receiver in college football, holding an overall grade of 90.4 and the nation’s top receiving grade of 91.3.
Lemon finished the regular season third in Power Four with 19 receptions of 20 yards or more, and he was tied for first nationally with 50 catches that resulted in first downs. He also had two rushing touchdowns and threw one TD pass. Lemon is the first Big Ten player with two TD catches and a touchdown pass in a game (against Oregon) since Minnesota’s Eric Decker did it against Cal in 2009.
Lemon recorded five 100-yard receiving games this season and seven in his career. He had 10 or more catches in a game three times this season. In his career, he has 137 catches for 2,008 yards (14.7 avg.) with 14 TDs, and he currently ranks 22nd on USC’s career receptions list.
Lemon, who was named a first-team All-American by PFF, On3 and The Athletic, was joined on the Walter Camp All-American first team by teammate Bishop Fitzgerald, a senior safety.
Fitzgerald was also named to the PFF All-America team, the On3 All-America second team and The Athletic All-America second team. Considered one of the nation’s best defensive players, he finished the regular season leading the Big Ten (and ranking No. 2 nationally) in interceptions (five). His five interceptions are the most by a USC player since Calen Bullock in 2022.
Despite missing two games due to injury late in the season, Fitzgerald still ranked fourth on the team with 51 total tackles (34 solo), including 2½ for losses, one sack and three pass breakups. He was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. He had two interceptions in a 31-13 victory over Michigan this season, one of the Trojans’ biggest wins since joining the Big Ten in 2024.
The Biletnikoff Award is named after Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the Pro and College Football Halls of Fame. He was a consensus first-team All-American receiver at Florida State and an All-Pro receiver for the Oakland Raiders. He caught 589 passes for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns in his 14-year Raiders career (1965 through 1978) and was the MVP of Super Bowl XI.
Lemon will receive the Biletnikoff Award trophy at an awards banquet on March 28, 2026, in Tallahassee, Florida.