[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Football Writer’s Association of America announced the three finalists for the 2014 Outland Trophy, honoring the best interior lineman in college football.
Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown, Auburn center Reese Dismukes and Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff were named as the finalists during Tuesday evening’s The Home Depot College Football Awards Nomination Special on ESPNU. The winner of the award will be announced Thursday, Dec. 11.
Since 1946, the Outland Trophy has been awarded to the top interior lineman on both sides f the football by the FWAA. The trophy, named after John Outland, an All-America lineman from Pennsylvania, is the third-oldest player award in major college football. The Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award are the oldest.
The three 2014 Outland Trophy finalists:
Malcom Brown, DT, Texas (6-2, 320, Jr., Brenham, Texas): Brown leads the Longhorns with 6.5 sacks, something a defensive tackle hasn’t accomplished in over 12 years in Austin. He paces Texas with 14 tackles, six quarterback pressures, forced two fumbles and recovered one. In his most recent game, Brown had two sacks and a forced fumble in the 28-7 victory over Oklahoma State, making the Longhorns (6-5) bowl eligible.
“Malcom is having an unbelievable season, an All-American year,” Texas coach Charlie Strong said in a FWAA press release. “He’s so fun to watch because he plays with great energy and is just a dominating player. You see his impact each and every game and teams try everything to stop him. They go low on him and he just pushes the guy off and runs to the football. But, it’s not just games, that’s the way he is at practice, he just gets after it on every single play.”
Reese Dismukes, C, Auburn (6-3, 295, Sr., Spanish Fort, Ala.): Dismukes has played in 48 games over four seasons and started in 47 of those games. The captain is considered the glue of an offensive line that grinds out yards in a triple-option attack to put Auburn at 8-3 on the year. Auburn ranks No. 8 in the country in rushing offense (266.2 yards per game), No. 22 in total offense (476.4 yards per game) and 28th in scoring (35.1 points per game).
“Our center is like another quarterback,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn told AuburnTigers.com. “He makes all the calls up front. Everything is on him, especially when you go pace. The center directs everything. He’s a very good athlete. He’s a tough guy. He’s been our leader. He’s been one of our leaders around here for a long time.”
Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa (6-5, 320, Sr., Denison, Iowa): Scherff has played in 24-straight games for the Hawkeyes, while also playing in 42 games total and starting in 34 of those games during his time in Iowa. The Hawkeyes are 75th in scoring offense (27.7 points per game) and 63rd in total offense (400.7 yards per game). He has proven to be solid this season for Iowa, a program that has traditionally produced good offensive linemen.
“Brandon came back for his senior year with a mission to prove, and I think he has done that,” said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. “From a leadership standpoint, having a guy play at an NFL level on a college playing field has been important to our football team. The toughness he brings, the attention to detail, the physical nature of his play, he’s pretty special. At the end of the day it is all on the tape. The tape doesn’t lie – he is the best.”
The winner of the 69th Outland Trophy will be revealed in Dec. 11 during The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN. The show will be histed by Rece Davis and will feature the likes of Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Tom Rinaldi and Samantha Ponder from the Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s BoardWalk at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
The award presentation itself will occur in Omaha for the 18th consecutive year on Jan. 15, 2015 at a banquet sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee.
Notre Dame lineman Ross Browner will also receive an Outland Trophy for winning the award in 1976 — before trophies were handed out by the FWAA.
