Tag: Outland Trophy

LSU center Charles Turner named Outland Trophy National Player of the Week

Charles Turner was LSU’s highest-graded offensive lineman in Week 7.

LSU’s offensive line has been a big part of the unit’s overall success this season, and that was on full display Saturday night against Auburn.

The Tigers totaled 563 yards of offense in the game, including an impressive 243 on the ground. Center [autotag]Charles Turner[/autotag], who was the highest-graded LSU offensive lineman in Week 7, has been named the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week.

The Outland Trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s top interior lineman. [autotag]Glenn Dorsey[/autotag] is the only LSU player to win the award, which came back in 2007.

The winner of this year’s Outland Trophy will be announced in December at The Home Depot College Football Awards, and Turner will hope to add his name to the list.

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Olu Fashanu named Outland Trophy player of the week

Penn State OL Olu Fashanu picks up weekly national award

Penn State offensive lineman Olu Fashanu is widely viewed as one of the top offensive linemen in college football. And now he’s been nationally recognized as one of the top performers of the week.

Fashanu was named the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week following Penn State’s victory over Iowa in Week 4. The Outland Trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s top interior lineman in college football. Fashanu is hoping to become the second player from Penn State to win the award. Mike Reid is the only Penn State player in program history to win the award, doing so in 1969. Picking up a weekly national award is certainly helping Fashanu’s cause.

Fashanu surprised many when he decided to return to Penn State for another year of college football. Many believed he would be a first-round draft pick if he declared for the 2023 NFL draft. He still remains a likely first-round pick, according to draft experts. He could even be one of the first offensive linemen selected by an NFL team, with some draft analysts thinking he could be a potential no. 1 overall pick.

Fashanu and Penn State hope to keep things going in the right direction this week when they head to Northwestern to face the 2-2 Wildcats in Evanston. Penn State enters a bye week after this coming weekend’s Big Ten road matchup at Northwestern.

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Three Ohio State players appear on Outland Trophy watch list

In case you missed it, three Buckeyes appeared on the Outland Trophy watch list. #GoBucks

Some more college football preseason watch lists are making the rounds. On Tuesday, we saw three Ohio State players make the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watchlist, and that was followed up with three more Buckeyes on the Outland Trophy preseason watch list.

The Outland Trophy was first handed out in 1946. It is administered by the Football Writers Association of America and is given to the college game’s best offensive lineman or interior defensive lineman.

This year’s Outland watch list has 94 names included on it, with defensive tackle Mike Hall, as well as offensive linemen Matt Jones and Donovan Jackson making the cut.

OSU has a pretty good history of Outland winners, with four players receiving the trophy. Jim Parker did it in 1956, Jim Stillwagon received the honor in 1970, John Hicks won the award in 1973, and Orlando Pace pancaked his way to the Outland in 1996. It’s been a dry spell since.

As more of these watch lists come out that have Ohio State players included, we’ll be sure to bring them all to you.

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Notre Dame players named to preseason award watch lists

Will anyone win this year?

It’s the time of year when we start seeing award watch lists come out in anticipation of the college football season. With Notre Dame expected to be highly ranked once again, there are plenty of players who are ripe for watching. Whether or not any of them actually take home any of this hardware is anyone’s guess right now, but they’re at least on the radar of those who know college football best.

In some cases, more than one Notre Dame player is on the watch list for the same award. Also, as different award watch lists come on different days, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Rest assured, we will be doing just that as these lists continue to come out.

At season’s end, we’ll find out if any of them or maybe somebody different becomes the first national award winner for the Irish since [autotag]Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah[/autotag] won the Butkus Award in 2020:

Texas A&M DL McKinnley Jackson named to FWAA’s 2023 Outland Trophy watchlist

Senior McKinnley Jackson was named to the 2023 Outland Trophy Watchlist, which recognizes college football’s best interior lineman on offense or defense.

With Texas A&M ready to kick off a pivotal 2023 season in about a month, a handful of returning players will prove essential to actualizing a rebound campaign. If the Maroon and White achieve their goal, it’s not a stretch to say some individual hardware could be heading to a few Aggies as a result.

In a Tuesday social media post from Aggie Football, the team shared that defensive lineman McKinnley Jackson was named to the Pro Football Writer’s Association of America’s 2023 Outland Trophy Watch List. Since 1946, the Outland Trophy has been awarded to college football’s best interior lineman on offense or defense.

This year’s preseason watchlist recognizes 91 returning standout interior linemen representing all 10 Division I FBS conferences and independents. McKinnley is just one of 17 SEC linemen named to the 2023 watchlist and one of 24 defensive tackles that the FWAA recognized.

Jackson returns for his senior season in Aggieland after appearing in eight games for the Maroon and White last season, having been named defensive MVP for the Aggies in 2022. He logged 37 total tackles, including seven for loss, to go along with two sacks and one fumble recovery. In 389 defensive snaps in 2022, he logged 219 as a run defender and 169 in pass rush situations.

He finished with a 70.1 overall defensive grade per Pro Football Focus, with a 71.8 run defense grade and a 68.9 pass rush grade.

The senior will be relied upon heavily to not only help a talented defensive front take a leap in 2023 but also to mentor the rising young talent on the line. The Aggies gave up 208.8 yards rushing per game and managed just 19 sacks in 2022, which means Jackson must lead as a force to be reckoned with if that unit hopes to realize its full potential this season.

Rising stars such as Walter Nolen, who was named the Defensive Top Newcomer last season, will depend on the likes of Jackson to lead by words and by example. Suppose the senior nose tackle consistnely bottles up opposing tailbacks or creates constant pressure on the opposing quarterback. In that case, you can be sure it will have a contagious effect on the younger players and for the better.

As Jackson prepares for the 2023 season, the official presentation to the winner will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner in Omaha on January 10, 2024.

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Is Olu Fashanu the favorite on the Outland Trophy watch list?

The Outland Trophy watch list is out, and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu should be among the favorites.

Watch list season continued merrily along on Tuesday with the release of a couple more preseason award watch lists for the upcoming college football season. One of the watch lists released was for the Outland Trophy and Penn State’s big man, returning offensive tackle [autotag]Olumuyiwa Fashanu[/autotag], was among those included on the initial watch list.

The Outland Trophy is awarded to college football’s best interior lineman, with both offensive and defensive players playing on the inside eligible to receive the award. Fashanu figures to be one of the top candidates for this year’s award after making his decision to return for another year of college football.

Fashanu is considered one of the top offensive linemen in the country this season and is already being viewed as a potential high first-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Draft analysts were surprised he passed on the 2023 NFL draft despite many first-round projections for the 2023 NFL draft. And he could be considered one of the favorites for the award this season. Fashanu tied LSU’s Mekhi Wingo for the most votes among returning players for last year’s Outland Trophy.

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The Outland Trophy has been presented annually since 1946, when Notre Dame’s George Connor received the inaugural award. Penn State has had just one Outland Trophy winner in school history. That was Mike Reid in 1969, at defensive tackle.

Three finalists for the Outland Trophy will be determined following the formation of the FWAA All-America Team by the Football Writers Association of America.

Last year’s winner of the Outland Trophy was Michigan center Olusegun Oluwatimi. He is just the second Big Ten player to win the award since 2011, with Iowa tackle Brandon Scherff being the other in 2014.

This year’s Outland Trophy winner will be announced at the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show in December.

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3 LSU players named to Outland Trophy watch list

Will Campbell, Emery Jones and Mekhi Wingo were all named to the preseason watch list for the Outland.

Three LSU players have been named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy, which is given to the top interior lineman in the country, regardless of offense or defense.

Offensive tackles [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Emery Jones[/autotag] were named to the watch list, as well as defensive tackle [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag].

Campbell and Jones held down the starting tackle spots as true freshmen last fall, improving as the year went on. Now, both are expected to have huge seasons as sophomores.

Wingo, meanwhile, wasn’t expected to start last year but took over for the injured Maason Smith, becoming an All-SEC player. He was also named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list.

LSU has improved in the trenches quite a bit since coach Brian Kelly arrived in Baton Rouge, and that’s evidenced by this watch list.

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Four Notre Dame linemen named to Lombardi Award watch list

The Lombardi Award has quite the interesting recent history.

The Lombardi Award has quite the interesting recent history. Given to the college football lineman who best embodies the late great Vince Lombardi, the award’s eligibility was expanded to all positions from 2017 to 2020. The award reverted to its original eligibility in 2021, and Notre Dame is benefiting from that in 2022. That’s because four Irish players have been named to the watch list for the award.

Not only is the winner the best player at his position, but he also best reflects Lombardi’s character. The Irish undoubtedly are happy that they will go into the season with four chances to net the sixth Lombardi Award in program history. [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] was the Irish’s last winner in 2012, so they definitely are overdue for another one.

The award can be presented to a lineman on either side of the ball, and since tight ends also can be blockers, they are eligible for the award, too. Keep that in mind as we look at the Irish players on the list:

Two Wisconsin interior linemen named to Outland Trophy Watch List

Two Wisconsin interior linemen were named to the Outland Trophy Watch List earlier this week. The Badgers’ last Outland Trophy winner was OT Gabe Carimi back in 2010.

Earlier this week, the Football Writer Association of America released their initial watch list for the Outland Trophy which is awarded to the best interior lineman in college football every year. Fortunately, the Wisconsin Badgers were able to land an interior lineman from offense and defense on the list.

Junior center Joe Tippman and senior nose tackle Keeanu Benton were selected for the award after having breakthrough seasons in 2021. Tippman started 10 out of the 11 games for Wisconsin and helped to create space for the Badgers’ outstanding run game last year.

On defense, Benton disrupted up the middle and is already nominated for several watch lists and preseason awards. The senior nose tackle did it all for Wisconsin in 2021 and finished with 25 tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

The Badgers have had two Outland Trophy winners in the past with offensive tackles Gabe Carimi and Joe Thomas in 2010 and 2006.

Notre Dame has two names on Outland Trophy watch list

Do you have a preference for who would win this?

If Notre Dame’s offense is to have any success this season, much of it will come from the offensive line. While that’s true every year, the Irish especially can call that a strong area this season. That’s because both [autotag]Jarrett Patterson[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Lugg[/autotag] have been named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy. This award recognizes the best interior lineman in college football and can go to a player on either offense or defense.

The honor definitely adds to Patterson’s reputation as he also is on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, given to college football’s best center. He has not allowed a sack in his career yet, and both he and Lugg started every game for the Irish in 2021. Irish quarterbacks would be wise to take advantage of having these two weapons.

The Irish’s history with the Outland Trophy goes back to its beginning in 1946. [autotag]George Connor[/autotag] and [autotag]Bill Fischer[/autotag] won in two of the first three years it was presented. Their only other winner was [autotag]Ross Browner[/autotag] in 1976.

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