John Outland Award Watch List has 4 Carolinians
The John Outland Award Watch List was released about a week ago. The Outland Trophy is presented to the best lineman in college football. This includes offensive linemen and defensive tackles. As a result the list has eighty-one players on it from a variety of positions. Four of those players hail from schools in North Carolina. Two of those guys hail from East Carolina. So let’s look briefly at the men involved.
JT Boyd – East Carolina – Center – Junior
Ike Harris – East Carolina – Tackle – Senior
Putting Boyd and Harris together is convenient because they are both Pirates and they are alphabetically close to one another. The existence of these two on the Outland Trophy list suggests that pass protection may not be a big problem for the Pirates this season. If that is the case, then their new coordinator and new quarterback may have a more pleasant time adjusting to the offense. Harris is particular is a mountain of a player at 6’7” and around 310 pounds.
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Matt Skura – Duke – Center – Senior
Skura was on the Rimington Award list, so it is not a big surprise to see him here. Skura will continue to anchor the Duke offensive line this season. This time he will have to do it without leaning on Laken Tomlinson, now with the Detroit Lions.
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Landon Turner – North Carolina – Guard – Senior
Turner had the reputation last year of being the best lineman on a bad line. That makes it hard to assess his value overall. This year it is assumed that Turner will have the benefit of working with a more experienced group of linemates. North Carolina could use a big year from Turner, particularly with the group of running backs that could potentially be unleashed.