Kinnard Named to Outland Trophy Watch List
Senior offensive tackle Darian Kinnard has been named to the Outland Trophy Watch List, as announced today by the Football Writers Association of American (FWAA). The award annually goes to the top interior lineman on offense or defense in college football.
Kinnard, a 6-foot-5, 338-pound offensive lineman from Knoxville, Tennessee, is one of 26 offensive tackles among the 80-man watch list. He has been graded by Pro Football Focus as college football’s top run-blocking tackle for 2021 and can play at both left and right tackle. The senior has seen action in 33 career games with 26 consecutive starts and in 2020, he graded at 88 percent in 10 regular season games with 40 knockdown blocks and 138 blocks at the point of attack at right tackle.
Also this preseason, Kinnard has been named first-team All-SEC by Athlon Sports, Media, Phil Steele and Walter Camp. Additionally, he was a preseason first-team All-American by Walter Camp and Pro Football Focus, and a preseason second-team All-American by Phil Steele.
The recipient of the 2021 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN in December. 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. 12, 2022.
The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from three 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 the 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 75 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.
