The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from three finalists who are a part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 26-man first team and eventually the three Outland finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner. Only interior linemen on offense or defense are eligible for the award; ends are not eligible.
photo by Gene Galin
Turner is entering his fourth year as UNC’s starter at right guard. He was named a first-team preseason All-America by Phil Steele and a second-team selection by Athlon Magazine. Last season, he earned third-team All-ACC honors from the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association after starting 11 of 13 contests and grading out at 90 percent on the season.
The list will be trimmed to six or seven semifinalists on Nov. 19. Five days later three Outland Trophy finalists will be named by the FWAA. The winner of the 70th Outland Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn at the turn of the 20th century, will be announced on ESPN on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 10 for the first time from the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be held on Jan. 14, 2016 in Omaha, Nebraska. This year, Maryland’s Randy White, the 1975 Outland Trophy winner, will be honored and presented an Outland Trophy, which was not given in the era in which he won the award.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of 1,400 men and women who cover college football. 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 game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at .
The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 22 awards boast more than 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.
Beginning in 2015, The Home Depot College Football Awards will have a new home at the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta. Airing live on ESPN on December 10, 2015, college football’s brightest stars will be honored for their performance on and off the field.
2015 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST
CENTERS (17)
Jack Allen, Michigan State
Austin Blythe, Iowa
Evan Boehm, Missouri
J.T. Boyd, East Carolina
Jake Brendel, UCLA
Ty Darlington, Oklahoma
Marcus Henry, Boise State
Joey Hunt, TCU
Nick Kelly, Arizona State
Ryan Kelly, Alabama
Nick Martin, Notre Dame
Andrew Ness, Northern Illinois
Tyler Orlosky, West Virginia
Matt Skura, Duke
Matt Sparks, UMass
Max Tuerk, USC
Dan Voltz, Wisconsin
OFFENSIVE GUARDS (16)
Vadal Alexander, LSU
Parker Ehinger, Cincinnati
Pat Elflein, Ohio State
Dan Feeney, Indiana
Joshua Garnett, Stanford
Alex Kozan, Auburn
Jimmy Kristof, Western Michigan
Rees Odhiambo, Boise State
Greg Pyke, Georgia
Isaac Seumalo, Oregon State
Andrew Reue, Rice
Chris Taylor, Tulane
Wyatt Teller, Virginia Tech
Spencer Tretola, Arkansas
Landon Turner, North Carolina
Christian Westerman, Arizona State
OFFENSIVE TACKLES (24)
Adrian Bellard, Texas State
Le’Raven Clark, Texas Tech
Jack Conklin, Michigan State
Austin Corbett, Nevada
Joe Dahl, Washington State
Taylor Decker, Ohio State
Spencer Drango, Baylor
Ike Harris, East Carolina
Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M
Roderick Johnson, Florida State
Tyler Johnstone, Oregon
Denver Kirkland, Arkansas
Cam Robinson, Alabama
Ryker Mathews, BYU
Kyle Murphy, Stanford
Brandon Shell, South Carolina
Garrett Stafford, Tulsa
Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
Freddie Tagaloa, Arizona
Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss
Halapoulivaati Vaitai, TCU
Clint Van Horn, Marshall
Cody Whitehair, Kansas State
Avery Young, Auburn
DEFENSIVE TACKLES (25)
Andrew Billings, Baylor
Beau Blackshear, Baylor
Vernon Butler, Louisiana Tech
Kenny Clark, UCLA
Maliek Collins, Nebraska
Sheldon Day, Notre Dame
Adam Gotsis, Georgia Tech
Darius Hamilton, Rutgers
Chris Jones, Mississippi State
Gerrand Johnson, Louisiana-Monroe
Luther Maddy, Virginia Tech
Corey Marshall, Virginia Tech
Thomas Niles, Central Florida
Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
Joe Ostman, Central Michigan
Davion Pierson, TCU
Jarran Reed, Alabama
Hassan Ridgeway, Texas
A’Shawn Robinson, Alabama
Travis Tuiloma, BYU
Eddie Vanderdoes, UCLA
Adolphus Washington, Ohio State
Antwaun Woods, USC
Connor Wujciak, Boston College
Anthony Zettel, Penn State
By conference (81): SEC (16), Pac-12 (13), Big 12 (11), Big Ten (11), ACC (8), American (6), Independents (5), Mid-American (4), Mountain West (3), C-USA (3) and Sun Belt (2).