Michigan football has the honor of being able to boast as the program which has the reigning Outland Trophy winner.
The first in program history, former Wolverines center Olu Oluwatimi — who transferred into Ann Arbor after previously coming aboard from Virginia — won the award after his sole season wearing maize and blue, along with the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the nation’s best center.
The Outland Trophy doesn’t delineate between linemen, instead honoring the best player in the trenches on the other side of the ball. In the 2023 watch list for the award, the Wolverines have four players listed, the most of any school in the country. On the list are offensive linemen Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter, and transfer Drake Nugent, who arrived via Stanford this offseason; defensive tackle Kris Jenkins is also on the list.
Michigan leads the list as the lone team with four selections, three from the offensive line with guards Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter playing on either side of center Drake Nugent, a Stanford transfer, along with defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. The Wolverines were in the top five nationally last season in the primary rushing categories of yards per carry (3rd, 5.58) and yards per game (5th, 238.9) with 41 rushing touchdowns as they reached the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Any of the above could certainly bring home the hardware. Jenkins is a particularly strong candidate, as he has a freakish talent which has led to his nickname, ‘The Mutant.’ Zinter and Keegan, both returning for their senior seasons — in large part due to the ‘One More Year Fund’ — are both maulers in the middle of the O-line. While Nugent certainly has the capability of being the best center in all of college football.
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