Photo by Ben Ennis | Georgia State Athletics
Georgia State receivers Robert Davis and Penny Hart were both named to the Biletnikoff Award Pre-Season Watch List, announced on July 13 by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc.
The fierce combination of Davis, a senior from Warner Robins, Ga., and Hart, the sophomore from Buford, combined for 132 receptions for 2,079 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2015.
Both were named to the first-team All-Sun Belt Conference, with Hart also capturing the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year award as well as Freshman All-American accolades.
Although Hart, who is listed at 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, is considered to be small at the wide receiver position, he managed to lead the Sun Belt in receptions (5.5 pg) and receiving yards (84.5 pg) while ranking third with eight touchdown receptions. He was second among all FBS freshmen in receiving yards and touchdown receptions and fourth in receptions. Hart’s hard work and consistency has earned him Georgia State’s season records with 71 receptions and eight touchdown catches, while he also set the Sun Belt freshman record with 1,099 receiving yards, the second-highest season total in Georgia State history.
As if Hart wasn’t enough for opposing defenses to contain, Davis, a two-time all-conference selection, was second in the Sun Belt to his teammate with 75.4 receiving yards per game. His 61 receptions and 980 receiving yards in 2015 has earned him a spot in Georgia State’s record books as the third-best season totals in school history. He caught six touchdown passes and averaged 16.1 yards per catch.
While Hart is a much smaller receiver, Davis brings great size. At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, Davis enters his senior season as the top active receiver in the Sun Belt and among the top 10 in the nation. He ranks second in Georgia State history in career receptions (155), receiving yards (2,423), is tied for second in touchdowns (12), and he has at least one reception in every game he has played (37 straight).
Davis indeed has high expectations for himself this season, but he has even higher expectations for his team as a whole.
“Our expectations are the same every year and that is to win the Sun Belt Conference,” Davis said. “I feel like as a competitor and the group of competitors that we have, you can’t go into a season expecting not to win the main prize.”
The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., will announce 10 Biletnikoff Award semifinalists on Nov. 3, and then the list will be narrowed to three finalist Nov. 22. The winner will be presented live on Dec. 8 on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.
Davis and Hart give Georgia State five individuals on various preseason watch lists:
S Bobby Baker, Jim Thorpe Award
WR Robert Davis, Biletnikoff Award
WR Penny Hart, Biletnikoff Award
C Gabe Mobley, Rimington Trophy
TE Keith Rucker, John Mackey Award, Wuerffel Trophy
The Panthers open the 2016 season on Sept. 2 vs. Ball State at the Georgia Dome, and the home slate also features a Thursday night, nationally-televised game vs. defending Sun Belt champion Arkansas State (Nov. 3) and a visit from in-state rival Georgia Southern (Nov. 19).
