Junior Travis Beckum, a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection, has been named one of three finalists for the 2007 John Mackey Award, the Nassau County Sports Commission announced Monday.

The Mackey Award, named after the former Baltimore Colt and NFL Hall of Famer, goes annually to the nation's best collegiate tight end.

The winner will be announced on Dec. 6 at the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show live on ESPN and presented at the Nassau County Sports Commission Annual Awards Dinner on April 28, 2008.

The other two finalists are USC's Fred Davis and Missouri's Martin Rucker.

Beckum, a native of Milwaukee, leads all tight ends nationally with 960 receiving yards, a school record for tight ends. He needs 40 yards to become only the fourth player in school history with 1,000 receiving yards in a season. His 73 receptions are second nationally among tight ends and are just two away from WR Lee Evans' single-season Wisconsin record.