July 12, 2012
DALLAS (FWAA) - 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.
The list includes Nevada senior Chris Barker, a two-time All-Conference selection who has started all 40 games of his collegiate career at one of the guard positions for "The Union" at Nevada. Barker was a first-team All-WAC selection last year as a senior after being named to the second team as a sophomore. Barker is one of just three Mountain West players on the list.
Senior Barrett Jones from defending national champion Alabama heads a list of 71 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.
2012 OUTLAND TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST (71)
OT Oday Aboushi, Virginia
G Alvin Bailey, Arkansas
OT David Bakhtiari, Colorado
G Chris Barker, Nevada
C Mario Benavides, Louisville
DT Josh Boyd, Mississippi State
C Braxston Cave, Notre Dame
G Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina
DT Everett Dawkins, Florida State
DT Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh
OT Chris Faulk, LSU
C James Ferentz, Iowa
DT Sharrif Floyd, Florida
OT D.J. Fluker, Alabama
G Blaize Foltz, TCU
C Travis Frederick, Wisconsin
C Dalton Freeman, Clemson
G Theo Goins, UCF
C Ben Habern, Oklahoma
DT Johnathan Hankins, Ohio State
G Braden Hansen, BYU
OT Caylin Hauptmann, FIU
DT Jordan Hill, Penn State
C Khaled Holmes, USC
OT Alex Hurst, LSU
OT James Hurst, North Carolina
G Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma
G Gabe Jackson, Mississippi State
DT John Jenkins, Georgia
DT Timmy Jernigan, Florida State
OT Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M
C T.J. Johnson, South Carolina
OT Wesley Johnson, Vanderbilt
C Barrett Jones, Alabama
G Joe Kellogg, Boise State
C Tyler Larsen, Utah State
OT Taylor Lewan, Michigan
DT Bennie Logan, LSU
G Spencer Long, Nebraska
DT Star Lotulelei, Utah
OT Zack Martin, Notre Dame
OT Jake Matthews, Texas A&M
G Chris McDonald, Michigan State
C Andrew Miller, Virginia Tech
OT Morgan Moses, Virginia
DT Roosevelt Nix, Kent State
C Graham Pocic, Illinois
OT Mark Popek, USF
OT Justin Pugh, Syracuse
G Cyril Richardson, Baylor
C Weston Richburg, Colorado State
DT Kawann Short, Purdue
DT Akeem Spence, Illinois
DT Baker Steinkuhler, Nebraska
OT Matt Summers-Gavin, California
C Travis Swanson, Arkansas
G Lane Taylor, Oklahoma State
G Dallas Thomas, Tennessee
DT Aaron Tipoti, California
G Omoregie Uzzi, Georgia Tech
DT Joe Vellano, Maryland
OT LaAdrian Waddle, Texas Tech
OT Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin
G Mason Walters, Texas
G Larry Warford, Kentucky
G Chance Warmack, Alabama
C Stephen Warner, Louisiana Tech
DT Jesse Williams, Alabama
DT Sylvester Williams, North Carolina
G David Yankey, Stanford
G Carson York, Oregon
By conference: SEC (19), Big Ten (12), ACC (11), Big 12 (7), Pac-12 (7), Big East (4), Independents (3), Mountain West (3), WAC (2), Conference USA (1), MAC (1), Sun Belt (1).
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 the 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.
