DALLAS (FWAA) – LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell had the highest pass blocking grade of any offensive tackle in the Tigers’ 34-17 win over UCLA. For his standout play in one of the weekend’s most-watched intersectional games, Campbell has earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games played the weekend of Sept. 21, 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 13 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 are added to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list going forward. Campbell is on the FWAA’s preseason Outland Trophy Watch List.
Campbell had a 90.1 pass blocking grade as LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for 352 yards in a clean pocket. On 44 pass attempts, Campbell allowed no pressures from his left tackle position and was never beaten as Nussmeier completed 32 passes and threw for three touchdowns without an interception. LSU had 27 first downs and 454 yards of total offense.
The 6-6, 320-pound junior from Monroe, La., graded over 80 in both his pass- and run-blocking as LSU dominated the second half after a 17-17 tie at the intermission. It was the first time that Campbell was over 80 in both grades this season, and helped Nussmeier earn a share of the SEC's offensive players of the week.
Campbell, a preseason All-America selection by a host of publications as well as a first-team All-SEC choice by both the coaches and media, is the most experienced offensive lineman at LSU with 29 career starts. He was honored by the team by being selected to wear No. 7, the jersey given to the best playmaker on the team who calls Louisiana home and designated for a player who brings up others around him. Campbell earned the jersey designation last season as well. This season he shares the honor with linebacker Harold Perkins, also a returning All-American. Rules prevent an offensive lineman from wearing No. 7, thus Perkins wears the 7 jersey, and Campbell wears No. 66 with a No. 7 patch on it.
Campbell is one of four linemen up front for the Tigers with at least 25 career starts (RG Miles Frazier [28], RT Emery Jones [27] and LG Garrett Dellinger [25]). Campbell and Jones are arguably the nation’s best offensive tackle tandem. Since joining the Tigers in 2022, Campbell and Jones have been on the field together for 1,822 snaps.
Campbell is also active in community service, leading the Tigers team in work at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. He has been nominated for other college football awards representing service to others.
LSU hosts South Alabama in its final non-conference game Saturday at 7:45 p.m. ET and on the SEC 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, 13 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.
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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.