The Outland Trophy, 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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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.
Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., named the 79th Outland Trophy
The Outland Trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s best college interior lineman on offense or defense. Banks is the Longhorns’ fifth Outland Trophy winner and their second consecutive awardee.
This is only the third time for one school to have consecutive Outland Trophy winners and the first time since 1983, following Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat’s honor last season. Nebraska players won consecutive awards in 1971-72 and three straight from 1981-83.
Banks, a 6-4, 320-pound junior from Humble, Texas, was selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America from three finalists that also included defensive tackle Mason Graham of Michigan and Walter Nolen of Ole Miss. Banks is the second offensive lineman of the past three seasons to win the Outland Trophy (Michigan center Olusegun Oluwatimi in 2022) and the fourth from the offensive side of the last seven seasons. Texas’ new affiliation in the Southeastern Conference gives the SEC an Outland winner in three of the last five seasons.
Game after game, Banks consistently grades among the FBS’ top linemen and earlier this week earned first team All-SEC honors. He is a three-year starter with 39 consecutive starts at left tackle along a Longhorns offensive line that is also a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, honoring the nation’s most outstanding offensive line unit. He was the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week on Oct. 15 following Texas’ 34-3 win over rival Oklahoma and earned the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week twice (Sept. 30 and Oct. 14).
Behind Banks’ protection, junior quarterback Quinn Ewers has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 2,665 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging 242.27 yards per contest in 11 starts. Ewers boasts a 24-game passing touchdown streak, the longest active streak by an FBS quarterback and the second-longest streak in program history behind Colt McCoy's program-record 29 games.
Banks is the latest winner among Texas players to earn the Outland Trophy. Prior to Sweat’s award last season were defensive tackle Brad Shearer (1977), defensive lineman Tommy Nobis (1965) and tackle Scott Appleton (1963). Like Banks, each of Texas’ previous Outland Trophy winners, finalists or semifinalists was a native Texan. Banks is coached by offensive line coach Kyle Flood.
Nebraska’s back-to-back winners were Larry Jacobson (1971) and Rich Glover (1972) followed by Dave Rimington (1981, '82) and Dean Steinkuhler (1983).