2018 Preseason Award Projections: Outland Trophy

By Charlie Campbell
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Heading into the 2018 college football season, WalterFootball.com will debut our projections for the nation’s leaders during the fall. The All-American teams always have some surprises, and the next fall’s stars could be the headline players next May for the 2019 NFL Draft. We also will project the winners of the postseason awards that are given out to the best of college football.

The Outland Trophy is given to the best interior lineman in college football. Two years ago, I correctly predicted Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson would win the Outland Trophy. Last year, I was wrong as Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver won the award.

Outland Trophy Winner:

Trey Adams, OT, Washington

The Outland Trophy has generally gone to offensive linemen, with a lean toward offensive tackles, and that was one of the reasons why I was correct in my Robinson prediction. Four years ago, Aaron Donald was the first defensive player to win the award since Ndamukong Suh in 2009. There is a lot of interior defensive line talent in college football. I have a hard time passing on the likes of Clemson’s Dexter Lawrence, Houston’s Ed Oliver, Auburn’s Derrick Brown and Alabama’s Raekwon Davis. However, I think the Outland Trophy’s selectors will stick with their inclination of going with an offensive lineman. Considering they have generally favored tackles over guards, I think Adams has to be a heavy favorite because he could easily be the most dominant offensive tackle in the nation in 2018.

Scouting sources have compared Adams’ size and athleticism to Taylor Lewan coming out of Michigan, and also staet that Adams has good technique to go with his impressive skill set. They think that the 6-foot-7, 309-pound Adams, when compared to tackles in the 2018 NFL Draft, is bigger with better range than Connor Williams and more athletic ability than Mike McGlinchey. Another thing that impressed sources was how Adams played against Alabama in the first round of the college football playoff. They say that Adams shut down the Crimson Tide defenders anytime he was isolated on them. That Alabama defense featured three dangerous pass-rushers in the form of Jonathan Allen, Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson. Adams has a great skill set with a lot of athletic ability. He is the favorite to be the top offensive lineman in college football in 2018. Thus, it wouldn’t surprise me if he wins the Outland Trophy.




Outland Trophy Runner-Up:

Raekwon Davis, DT, Alabama

When the Outland Trophy decides to go with a non offensive linemen it has been a defensive tackle in recent years, so one would think that Ed Oliver has a real shot at repeating considering he is an elite player. However, the only player to repeat as the Outland Trophy winner was Dave Rimington in 1981 and 1982. Thus, I will have Oliver as an honorable mention. Davis is a similarly talented player to Oliver, so Davis could easily be a top candidate for Outland Trophy.

Davis had only four tackles and a sack as a freshman in backup duty. Thus, many didn’t see his breakout 2017 season as the replacement for Jonathan Allen coming. Davis formed a lethal interior with Da’Ron Payne and was Alabama’s most consistent pass-rusher. Davis totaled 8.5 sacks, 10 tackles for a loss, 69 tackles and one interception. He came up with some big performances in the playoff games to help Alabama win another National Championship. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Davis is a freaky athlete with a ton of upside. With the good talent around him, he should produce another big season and could be a top contender for the Outland Trophy.




Outland Trophy Dark Horse:

Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn

After a rough start to the 2017 season, Auburn caught fire late in the year, including wins over the two teams that played for the National Championship, Georgia and Alabama. The Tigers’ offense got a lot of attention, but their defense came up with big performances and Brown was the leader on that side of the ball. In 2017, Brown totaled 56 tackles with nine tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He caused more disruption than the numbers illustrate and created a lot of negative plays for the opposing offense.

Infinitely more important than my opinion, is what NFL scouts think. Here is how one advance scout summarized Brown, “He’s a first-rounder all the way. Of the guys in the southeast, the only one I would put above him entering the season is Raekwon Davis – Alabama. I think Brown is better than the Clemson guys – Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence. Brown can play the three-[technique] or the one-technique. He has real strength to him and can push the pocket in the pass rush.” With Brown being an elite talent up front, I think he could be a dark-horse candidate to win the Outland Trophy.

Honorable Mentions: Alabama OT Jonah Williams, Wisconsin OT Michael Deiter, Ole Miss OT Greg Little, Clemson OT Mitch Hyatt, Washington State OT Andre Dillard, Oklahoma OT Bobby Evans, Washington OT Kaleb McGary, West Virginia OT Yodny Cajuste, Texas OT Calvin Anderson, Boston College OT Chris Linstrom, Florida OT Jawaan Taylor, BYU OT Ului Lapuaho, Ohio State OT Isaiah Prince, Northern Illinois OT Max Scharping, Wisconsin OT David Edwards and Kansas State OT Dalton Risner.

Houston DT Ed Oliver, Clemson DT Christian Wilkins, Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence, Mississippi State DT Jeff Simmons, Michigan DT Rashan Gary, Ohio State DT Dre’Mont Jones, Notre Dame DT Jerry Tillery, Florida State DT Demarcus Christmas, Missouri DT Terry Beckner, Washington DT Greg Gaines, Kansas DT Daniel Wise and Virginia Tech DT Ricky Walker.











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