T'Vondre Sweat named 2023 Outland Trophy Award winner

Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat was named the 2023 Outland Trophy Award winner on Friday night. He won the award on ESPN’s College Football Awards show on Friday evening.

T’Vondre Sweat was perhaps the most important player on the Texas defense as the Longhorns clinched their first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff. He led the team in tackles for loss and added 2.0 sacks.

Sweat also got involved in the offense — you read that right — when he caught a touchdown in the Big 12 Championship. His versatility is impressive, and he earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors for his efforts.

Sweat won the award over the two other finalists. They were Joe Alt, an offensive tackle for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and Cooper Beebe, an offensive guard for the Kansas State Wildcats.

T’Vondre Sweat interview on CFB Awards Show

Once he won the award, Sweat broke down his touchdown catch in the Big 12 Championship Game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. “First off, we did it the day before. You know what I mean. And I ran the route in practice and I bobbled the ball. And Coach Sark was like, ‘Alright Sweat, better not play with me.’ So, we come into the game, I was like alright I’ve got this. And when it happened, I was like, oh I’m wide open. The ball was coming to me. And you know, I didn’t think about it. And it happened,” Sweat said.

What’s the current vibe and mindset for the Texas Longhorns heading into their highly anticipated College Football Playoff Semifinal matchup with the Washington Huskies? “I mean, it’s gonna be a great opponent. That’s a great team we’re going against. We just can’t wait to play against them and we’ll find out the results when we play them on New Year’s,” the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year said.

In the interview, Sweat was wearing a special necklace with his mother on it. He took a bit of time to explain why he was wearing the special necklace when receiving the award. “Shoutout to my mom, man. Without that woman, I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things. And that woman just stayed on my neck 24-7 and all I can just say I love that woman to death. And she’s like my right hand,” Sweat said.

Washington and Texas will face off on January 1st, 2024. Kick time for that one is slated for 8:45 PM EST.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.