Clemson duo on Outland Trophy preseason watch list

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DALLAS (FWAA) — The Football Writers Association of America has announced the preseason watch list for the 2020 Outland Trophy, recognizing 85 standout interior linemen representing all 10 Division I FBS conferences and independents. This is the 75th anniversary season for the Outland Trophy and the watch list presents a diverse field of players to accompany the return of 2019 Outland Trophy winner, offensive tackle Penei Sewell of Oregon.

Sewell, a junior, is the only returning lineman among the 2019 Outland Trophy semifinalists and 2019 FWAA All-Americans. He became Oregon's first Outland Trophy winner last season and was the third consecutive sophomore to receive this prestigious award. The 6-6, 325-pound junior from Malaeimi, American Samoa and then Desert Hills High School in St. George, Utah, emerged as a dominant left tackle for the 2020 Rose Bowl champions and did not allow a sack last season. He had eight games without allowing a pressure, hit or hurry on the quarterback, and in 466 pass-blocking snaps allowed only seven quarterback pressures.

The Alabama Crimson Tide top the watch list with four selections – guards Deonte Brown and Landon Dickerson, offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood and defensive tackle LaBryan Ray – with Notre Dame and Ohio State posting three players each. Notre Dame's three representatives are all on offense – center Jarrett Patterson, guard Aaron Banks and 2019 watch list member Liam Eichenberg. The SEC leads the conference totals with 14 – defending national champion LSU has defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin, Tennessee offers a guard pair with Cade Mays and Trey Smith, and Kentucky has center Drake Jackson and offensive tackle Darian Kinnard. The Big Ten has 12 players, buoyed by a trio of Ohio State offensive linemen – center Josh Myers, guard Wyatt Davis and tackle Thayer Munford – to go with teammates from Illinois, Iowa and Michigan.

Pitt is one of 17 schools to have a pair of players on the list, as defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman led the nation’s interior linemen last season with 10.5 sacks and center Jimmy Morrissey is among 13 players who return from the 2019 watch list. Clemson, the national runner-up, offers a pair of tackles in Jackson Carman on offense and Tyler Davis on defense, part of the ACC’s nine entries that also includes Boston College guard Zion Johnson and offensive tackle Ben Petrula, linemen who led the nation’s eighth-best rushing attack last year.

The Pac-12 is third among the conference totals with 11 as defensive tackle Jordon Scott joins Sewell from Oregon, Stanford has center Drew Dalman and offensive Walker Little, and USC has defensive tackle Jay Tufele and offensive guard Alijah Vera-Tucker. Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey and offensive tackle Adrian Ealy guided one of last season's College Football Playoff teams and top-five total offense units up front.

West Virginia is the only team to have multiple defensive players on the list with the brother defensive tackle tandem of Dante and Darius Stills, part of the Big 12’s six entries. BYU, Western Michigan, Air Force and Appalachian State also have double representation on the list.

The recipient of the 75th Outland Trophy will be announced in early December. The official presentation to the winner will be made in Omaha, Neb., at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner sponsored by Werner Enterprises and produced by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, scheduled for Jan. 13, 2021.

Watch list candidates may be added or removed during the season. The distribution of watch list candidates is spread well among the conferences – behind the 14 from the SEC and 12 from the Big Ten are the Pac-12 with 11 and the Atlantic Coast (9), followed by the Mountain West (7), Big 12 (6), the Independents (6), and the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American and Sun Belt with five each. The list includes 32 offensive tackles, 21 offensive guards, 17 defensive tackles and 15 centers.

G Jack Anderson, Texas Tech

G Blaise Andries, Minnesota

OT Kayode Awosika, Buffalo

G Aaron Banks, Notre Dame

G Deonte Brown, Alabama

G Mike Caliendo, Western Michigan

OT Jackson Carman, Clemson

OT Larnel Coleman, Massachusetts

OT Sam Cosmi, Texas

OT Coy Cronk, Iowa

C Keegan Cryder, Wyoming

OT Jake Curhan, California

C Drew Dalman, Stanford

OT Christian Darrisaw, Virginia Tech

DT Tyler Davis, Clemson

G Wyatt Davis, Ohio State

OT D’Antne Demery, FIU

G Landon Dickerson, Alabama

OT Tommy Doyle, Miami (Ohio)

G Corey Dublin, Tulane

OT Adrian Ealy, Oklahoma

OT Liam Eichenberg, Notre Dame

C James Empey, BYU

OT Parker Ferguson, Air Force

C Jaelin Fisher, Charlotte

G Shamarious Gilmore, Georgia State

G Kendrick Green, Illinois

G Kenyon Green, Texas A&M

C Noah Hannon, Appalachian State

C Bryce Harris, Toledo

C Trey Hill, Georgia

OT Jarrett Horst, Arkansas State

C Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma

G Baer Hunter, Appalachian State

OT Sadarius Hutcherson, South Carolina

OT Alaric Jackson, Iowa

C Drake Jackson, Kentucky

G Zion Johnson, Boston College

OT Darian Kinnard, Kentucky

OT Brandon Kipper, Oregon State

G Nolan Laufenberg, Air Force

OT Alex Leatherwood, Alabama

OT Walker Little, Stanford

OT Abraham Lucas, Washington State

G Cain Madden, Marshall

DT Ifeanyi Maijeh, Temple

OT Ilm Manning, Hawai’i

OT Jalen Mayfield, Michigan

G Cade Mays, Tennessee

OT Dan Moore, Texas A&M

OT Jaylon Moore, Western Michigan

C Jimmy Morrissey, Pitt

OT Thayer Munford, Ohio State

C Josh Myers, Ohio State

DT Lorenzo Neal, Purdue

DT Dion Novil, North Texas

DT Levi Onwuzurike, Washington

OT Alex Palczewski, Illinois

C Dylan Parham, Memphis

C Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame

DT Dom Peterson, Nevada

OT Ben Petrula, Boston College

DT LaBryan Ray, Alabama

C Kody Russey, Louisiana Tech

OT Teton Saltes, New Mexico

G Cole Schneider, UCF

DT Jordon Scott, Oregon

OT Penei Sewell, Oregon

DT Tyler Shelvin, LSU

OT Rashawn Slater, Northwestern

G Trey Smith, Tennessee

DT Dante Stills, West Virginia

DT Cameron Thomas, San Diego State

OT Jaylon Thomas, SMU

DT Khyiris Tonga, BYU

G O'Cyrus Torrence, Louisiana

DT Jay Tufele, USC

DT Jaylen Twyman, Pitt

OT Cole Van Lanen, Wisconsin

G Alijah Vera-Tucker, USC

G Dohnovan West, Arizona State

DT Kobie Whiteside, Missouri

DT Marvin Wilson, Florida State

C Jack Wohlabaugh, Duke

By conference: SEC 14, Big Ten 12, Pac-12 11, ACC 9, Mountain West 7, Big 12 6, Independents 6, American Athletic 5, Conference USA 5, Mid-American 5, Sun Belt 5.

By position: Offensive Tackles 32, Offensive Guards 21, Defensive Tackles 17, Centers 15.