University of Tennessee Athletics
SEARS AMONG EARLY 2006 OUTLAND TROPHY CANDIDATES
June 19, 2006 | Football
June 19, 2006
DALLAS - The Football Writers Association of America has announced the 2006 Outland Trophy Watch List. Fifty-four standout linemen from around the country have been nominated for consideration in the preseason, with Tennessee's Arron Sears prominent on the list.
The Outland Trophy has been awarded to the best offensive or defensive lineman in college football since 1946. The winner is selected by the FWAA's All-America Committee, which selects the association's 25-man team and picks three Outland Trophy finalists.
Sears, a senior offensive tackle from Russellville, Ala., enters 2006 having already been named a Playboy Preseason All-America. He was a consensus All-Southeastern Conference choice last year.
The 2005 Outland Trophy announcement will be Dec. 7 in Orlando, Fla., on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show. The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee and First Data Corporation, is set for Jan. 11, 2007, in Omaha, Neb.
Tennessee defensive tackle John Henderson, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, won the award in his junior year of 2000. Middle guard Steve DeLong was UT's first Outland recipient, claiming the 1964 award for the Vols.
The Outland Trophy has been presented annually by the FWAA since 1946. It is named after the late John Outland, a lineman at Pennsylvania at the turn of the century.
Additional Outland Trophy candidates may be added during the course of the season. Tackles, guards and centers are eligible for consideration.
