Outland Trophy names semifinalists for award given to the best lineman in college football

It’s not as heralded as the Heisman, Biletnikoff or Doak, but the Outland Trophy, awarded to the best lineman in college football — center, guard or tackle; offense and defense — is still plenty coveted by those vying for it. It’s also one of the few CFB awards that both offensive and defensive players are eligible for.

And from a preseason watchlist of 89 names, the Outland Trophy announced seven semifinalists on Wednesday night with just two weeks left in the regular season for college football. Two defenders made the cut, while the Big Ten dominated with four out of seven players.

The semifinalists for the Outland Trophy are:

• OT Peter Skoronski, Northwestern
• DT Calijah Kancey, Pitt
• DT Jalen Carter, Georgia
• OL John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota
• OT Paris Johnson Jr., Ohio State
• C Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan
• OL Steve Avila, TCU

Georgia has a chance to post repeat winners of the award and both from the defensive side of the ball. Stud defensive tackle Jordan Davis took home the honors for the 2021 season and his running mate, Carter, is up for the hardware in 2022. Carter, despite an injury disrupting the middle of this season, has been as dominant as expected anchoring the defense for the No. 1 team in the nation.

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The other defender, Kancey, is the most productive sack-master on a defense that leads the nation in sacks. Out of Pitt’s 37 sacks, Kancey has seven of them from the interior of the defensive line.

Of the offensive linemen, Skoronski is the only one that plays on a truly bad offense this season — Northwestern is in the 100s in rushing offense and 70th in passing offense. But anybody who has watched the Wildcats or studied Skoronski’s tape will tell you he has not been the problem, as evidenced by his status as one of top tackles projected to be taken in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Plus, the Wildcats at No. 47 nationally in sacks allowed, tied with Alabama and Notre Dame.

Elsewhere, the other four offensive linemen are doing work at the business end of a top 60 offense — Minnesota is the outlier at No. 57, but the Gophers are held down by a stagnant passing offense. Behind Michael Schmitz, Minnesota has the No. 14 rushing offense in America.

Only Michigan and Oluwatimi have done better in the run game as the Wolverines are No. 4 nationally in rushing offense.

While TCU and Ohio State aren’t quite the same rushing attacks as Minnesota and Michigan, they more than make up for it airing it out.

TCU is No. 12 in total offense, the Buckeyes are No. 6. Respective quarterbacks Max Duggan and CJ Stroud have been given consistent, clean pockets most of the season to power their offenses forward. Plus, they both still have Top 25 rushing offenses. They have Avila and Johnson Jr., respectively, to thank for that, in part.

Between the pair of defensive stalwarts to the quintet of offensive linemen, there are plenty of deserving potential winners for the Outland Trophy from the pool of semifinalists.