Story courtesy of the FWAA
Photo courtesy of Alabama Athletics
DALLAS – The prestigious 2012 Outland Trophy Watch List was released today with a galaxy of potential line stars who could win the award that goes to the best interior lineman in college football, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
Senior Barrett Jones from defending national champion Alabama heads a list of 70 players, which includes only tackles, guards and centers on both sides of the ball. Of the players on the watch list, 18 defensive tackles occupied spots. The rest of the linemen were on offense. Every Division I Bowl Subdivision conference, along with independents BYU and Notre Dame, had at least one player on the list.
The 6-5, 302-pound Jones, who has switched from offensive tackle to center, will seek to become only the second player to win back-to-back Outland Trophies. Nebraska center Dave Rimington, in 1981-82, is the only player to pull off the double.
The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from three finalists who are part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 25-man team and eventually the three Outland finalists to be named on Nov. 19. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner.
The Outland Trophy, presented annually since 1946, is the third oldest award in major college football. The winner of the 67th Outland Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn and Kansas at the turn of the century, will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 6 on ESPN.
The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be held on Jan. 10, 2013, in Omaha, Neb.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,300 men and women who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tigerfwaa@aol.com or 972-713-6198.
The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, ncfaa.org.
The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Fifteen of the association’s 21 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the complete 2012 preseason watch list calendar:
2012 OUTLAND TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Offensive Tackles (17)
Oday Aboushi, Virginia
David Bakhtiari, Colorado
Chris Faulk, LSU
D.J. Fluker, Alabama
Caylin Hauptmann, FIU
Alex Hurst, LSU
James Hurst, North Carolina
Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M
Taylor Lewan, Michigan
Zack Martin, Notre Dame
Jake Matthews, Texas A&M
Morgan Moses, Virginia
Mark Popek, USF
Justin Pugh, Syracuse
Matt Summers-Gavin, California
LaAdrian Waddle, Texas Tech
Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin
Centers (15)
Mario Benavides, Louisville
Braxston Cave, Notre Dame
James Ferentz, Iowa
Travis Frederick, Wisconsin
Dalton Freeman, Clemson
Ben Habern, Oklahoma
Khaled Holmes, USC
T.J. Johnson, South Carolina
Barrett Jones, Alabama
Tyler Larsen, Utah State
Andrew Miller, Virginia Tech
Graham Pocic, Illinois
Weston Richburg, Colorado State
Travis Swanson, Arkansas
Stephen Warner, Louisiana Tech
Offensive Guards (20)
Alvin Bailey, Arkansas
Chris Barker, Nevada
Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina
Blaize Foltz, TCU
Theo Goins, UCF
Braden Hansen, BYU
Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma
Gabe Jackson, Mississippi State
Spencer Long, Nebraska
Joe Kellogg, Boise State
Chris McDonald, Michigan State
Cyril Richardson, Baylor
Lane Taylor, Oklahoma State
Dallas Thomas, Tennessee
Omoregie Uzzi, Georgia Tech
Mason Walters, Texas
Larry Warford, Kentucky
Chance Warmack, Alabama
David Yankey, Stanford
Carson York, Oregon
Defensive Tackles (18)
Josh Boyd, Mississippi State
Everett Dawkins, Florida State
Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh
Sharrif Floyd, Florida
Johnathan Hankins, Ohio State
Jordan Hill, Penn State
John Jenkins, Georgia
Timmy Jernigan, Florida State
Bennie Logan, LSU
Star Lotulelei, Utah
Roosevelt Nix, Kent State
Kawann Short, Purdue
Akeem Spence, Illinois
Baker Steinkuhler, Nebraska
Aaron Tipoti, California
Joe Vellano, Maryland
Jesse Williams, Alabama
Sylvester Williams, North Carolina