DALLAS (FWAA) – South Carolina guard Torricelli Simpkins III stood out among the Gamecocks offensive line that cleared the way for 530 yards of total offense in a 44-20 win Saturday over No. 10 Texas A&M. For grading high and for his share creating the offensive outburst, Simpkins III earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Nov. 2, 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 Simpkins this week - are added to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list going forward.
Simpkins, a 6-5, 319-pound redshirt senior from Charlotte, N.C., is in his first season at South Carolina (5-3) stationed at right guard inside of one of the country’s most experienced offensive lines. He transferred following three seasons at North Carolina Central. Saturday’s game was his best with the Gamecocks, leading in part to Carolina’s breakout 530 yards and 44 points against a Texas A&M defense allowing just 18 points and 338 yards per game. On a line that entered the contest 132nd in the nation in sacks allowed, South Carolina didn’t allow a sack against Texas A&M’s outstanding defensive front.
Simpkins graded out at 88 percent with six pancake blocks and three knockdowns against Texas A&M. He was named the SEC’s Offensive Lineman of the Week for his efforts as South Carolina had its best rushing game of the season. Carolina powered the ball 43 times for a season-best 286 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per carry – the 286 yards were the third-highest total under coach Shane Beamer and the most against an SEC opponent in his regime. The Gamecocks had a pair of 100-yard rushers – running back Raheim Sanders (144) and quarterback LaNorris Sellers (106) – for the first time since 2021.
The offensive line has been the steadiest part of the season for South Carolina, which sits a half-game behind eight ranked teams in the SEC standings at 3-3. It has a combined 149 career collegiate starts, the sixth-highest total in Division I Football, and has started the same offensive line in every game with Josiah Thompson, Kamaar Bell, Vershon Lee, Simpkins and Cason Henry working from left to right. Carolina is one of eight FBS schools to have started the same offensive line in every game this season – a stark difference from 2023 when the Gamecocks started nine different front fives in their first nine games.
Simpkins has started in 43 consecutive games – 35 straight at NCCU and now eight consecutive starts at right guard for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina has never had a Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist. The last South Carolina offensive lineman to earn FWAA All-America recognition was A.J. Cann, a second-team member in 2014.
The Gamecocks travel to upstart and No. 24/25 Vanderbilt (6-3) for a 4:15 p.m. ET game Saturday on the SEC Network. South Carolina has defeated Vandy 15 straight times. A win Saturday would give the Gamecocks their third SEC road win of the season, something USC hasn’t done since 2011.
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.