DALLAS (FWAA) – Two of the historically-best programs for producing interior linemen clashed last week in Madison, Wis., but it was the Alabama Crimson Tide doing most of the pushing around in a 42-10 win over the Badgers. For creating the protection that turned its offense loose in a 407-total-yard effort with its mix of underclassman in the starting lineup, the Football Writers Association of America is awarding its Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor to the entire Crimson Tide offensive line representing the games during the weekend of Sept. 14.
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. It is the first time for an entire offensive line to receive the award rather than an individual. 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 are added to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list going forward. Tyler Booker and Parker Brailsford were already on the watch list. Kadyn Proctor, Jaeden Roberts and Elijah Pritchett will be added.
Saturday was the first time for the Crimson Tide to have what it expected to begin the season with starting on the offensive line. It was the third different starting lineup for Alabama in three games but worked together to produce 7.3 yards per play and the 407 total yards. The key was the return of sophomore Kadyn Proctor at left tackle, which allowed Booker, a junior, to move back inside at left guard. Brailsford, a redshirt sophomore, has been a stalwart at center after transferring in from Washington with head coach Kalen DeBoer. Pritchett, a redshirt sophomore, made his first start at right tackle with the redshirt junior Roberts alongside at guard. Wilkin Fornby, a homegrown redshirt freshman from Tuscaloosa, started the first two games at right tackle before yielding to Pritchett.
That line allowed only two sacks and five tackles for loss at Wisconsin. In total, the line allowed only two pressures and committed only two false starts, hidden keys that made for a 32-point win that’s the largest for an opponent in Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium since 2008.
Bama quarterback Jalen Milroe is enjoying the protection. Given extra time to pass or run against the Badgers, Milroe threw for three touchdowns and ran for two others. Per Alabama's publicity staff, his 14 total touchdowns in just three games are the most to start a season by any Southeastern Conference player in the last 20 years (joining Johnny Manziel in 2012). Milroe is also the first FBS player to contribute multiple rushing and passing touchdowns in three consecutive games since 2012 and the first to do it at Alabama.
Alabama is 9-of-11 this season in red-zone possessions, all of them touchdowns. It’s made the FWAA’s Second-Team All-America kicker last year, Graham Nicholson, a barely used asset following his transfer to Alabama from Miami (Ohio). His only attempt in three games was a miss from 46 yards out in the opener.
Alabama is averaging 238.0 rushing yards per game, 20th in the nation. It scored four touchdowns of 20-plus yards (out of six) against Wisconsin, upping its total to an FBS-leading 13 on the season. It’s three-headed rushing beast of Jam Miller (265 yards, 3 TD), Justice Haynes (165, 2 TD) and Milroe (156, 6 TD) has gained 586 of its 714 rushing yards, or 82.1 percent of Bama’s ground game.
That can break a defense – and this offensive line is just now breaking in.
Alabama is idle this weekend as it prepares for its Sept. 28 showdown with No. 2 Georgia in Tuscaloosa.
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, 13 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.