DALLAS (FWAA) – North Carolina defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie was a nemesis in the Minnesota backfield last Thursday and posted a career-high three sacks among six tackles as the Tar Heels escaped the Twin Cities with a 19-17 win. The defensive presence has earned Ritzie the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Aug. 31, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the second season for the FWAA to select an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA's weekly national honors from 12 awards. The recipient of the 2024 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 12. The official presentation to the winner will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner sponsored by Werner Enterprises and produced by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee in Omaha, Neb., on Jan. 22, 2025.
The weekly winners, including Ritzie this week, are added to the Outland Trophy watch list going forward.
Ritzie was the mainstay along the North Carolina defensive front. The 6-4, 290-pound graduate student from Kernersville, N.C., impacted the passing game with his three sacks that tie for the national lead with one other, and his six tackles helped hold Minnesota, annually one of the country’s top rushing units, to only 78 yards for the game and only 15 in the second half. Included in the mix was Ritzie’s 100th career tackle.
The three sacks – a stat that doubled his career sack mark of 2.5 in three previous UNC seasons – are the most in a single game by a North Carolina player since Tomon Fox had three against Miami in 2019 and tie for third all-time in program history for a single game.
It’s a fine start to the season for a defensive tackle who posted 25 tackles, three QB pressures, a pass breakup, a forced fumble, a half-sack and a half-tackle for loss in the 2023 season. The defensive line has been a point of emphasis under new UNC defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. Ritzie’s best season came in 2022 when he had 48 total tackles with one sack and two tackles for loss.
North Carolina guard Jonathan Cooper was a finalist for the Outland Trophy in 2012, the Tar Heels’ only previous representation in the award’s history.
The Tar Heels host Charlotte at 3:30 p.m. ET this week on the ACC Network.
The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from finalists who are a part of the annual FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects a 26-man first team and eventually 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.
The Outland Trophy, celebrating 79 years since its founding, is the third-oldest major college football award. Created in 1946 when Dr. John Outland presented the FWAA with a financial contribution to initiate the award, the Outland Trophy has been given to the best interior lineman in college football ever since. Dr. Outland, an All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1890s, eventually took up practice in Kansas City, Mo. An avid outdoorsman, Dr. Outland believed linemen did not get the credit they deserved and wanted an award to recognize them.
The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.
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The Greater Omaha Sports Committee, founded in 1977, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, consisting of more than 1,300 men and women from the City of Omaha, the State of Nebraska, and others. The Committee serves to communicate, develop, initiate and promote sports activities in the Greater Omaha sports area. In addition to the Outland Trophy Award Events and Dinner, the Greater Omaha Sports Committee promotes high school, college, and professional sports in the Greater Omaha area and the Midwest. For more information contact Bob Mancuso Jr., Chairman at bmancuso@showofficeonline.com or see showofficeonline.com.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 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 tiger@fwaa.com.