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Pair of B1G stars among 6 semifinalists for Outland Trophy
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The Outland Trophy announced 6 semifinalists for the 2021 honor Wednesday night.
The Big Ten was well-represented, with 2 of the 6.
Ohio State tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere and Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum joined Georgia’s Jordan Davis, NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu, Alabama’s Evan Neal, and Kentucky’s Darian Kinnard on the list.
The 2021 Outland Trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s best collegiate lineman, offensive or defensive. The All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) selected the semifinalists from nominations by the entire membership. The award is presented by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee.
Linderbaum is one of college football’s top centers and a star for the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten). He was a Second Team FWAA All-American a year ago. Since moving from defense to offense after his freshman season, the junior has started 31 straight games. He’s the highest-graded center PFF has evaluated.
The Hawkeyes have 4 Outland Trophy winners in their past, most recently offensive tackle Brandon Scherff in 2014, who is also the Big Ten’s last Outland winner. Offensive tackle Robert Gallery (2003), tackle Alex Karras (1957), and guard Calvin Jones (1955) are the program’s other winners. The last center to win the Outland Trophy came in 2005—Minnesota’s Greg Eslinger.
Petit-Frere is the Buckeyes’ first Outland semifinalist since center Billy Price in 2017. Ohio State also has 4 Outland winners in its program history—guard Jim Parker (1956), guard Jim Stillwagon (1970), tackle John Hicks (1973), and tackle Orlando Pace (1996).
A junior, Petit-Frere was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection last season but has become one of the top linemen on arguably the nation’s best offense in 2021. The Buckeyes lead the country in scoring and offense, and they’ve allowed only 11 sacks (13th nationally) and 33 tackles for loss (3rd) all season.
The list of semifinalists will be whittled to 3 on Nov. 23 and the winner of the award will be announced on Dec. 9 during ESPN’s college football awards show.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.