DALLAS (FWAA) \u2013\u00a0<\/b>Utah offensive tackle\u00a0Spencer Fano<\/b>\u00a0was named the recipient of the\u00a080th Outland Trophy<\/b>\u00a0on tonight during\u00a0The Home Depot College Football Awards<\/i>\u00a0on ESPN. The Outland Trophy is awarded annually to the nation\u2019s best college interior lineman on offense or defense. Fano is Utah\u2019s first Outland Trophy winner.<\/p>\n

The official presentation to Fano 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. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n

Fano, a 6-6, 308-pound junior from Spanish Fork, Utah, was selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America from three finalists that also included center\u00a0Logan Jones\u00a0<\/b>of Iowa and defensive tackle\u00a0Kayden McDonald<\/b>\u00a0of Ohio State. He is only the second winner from a Big 12 school since 2004 but the second in three seasons;\u00a0Texas defensive tackle T\u2019Vondre Sweat played in the Big 12 in 2023.<\/p>\n

“Winning this trophy means the world to me,” Fano said.\u00a0“Since I first started\u00a0playing offensive tackle\u00a0as a kid, attaining this trophy has been one of my biggest goals. Being in this position is truly surreal and it is hard to put into words. I am just so incredibly grateful and blessed to be surrounded by incredible people.\u00a0To me this is a group accomplishment. I never would have received something like this without my parents, my sibblings, my coaches, my teammates and most of all my Heavenly Father. Thank you so much and Go Utes!”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fano is the Utes\u2019 first Outland Trophy representation in 23 seasons. Utah\u2019s only previous finalist had been offensive tackle Jordan Gross in 2002.<\/p>\n

“It’s always special when we can give the Outland Trophy to a dominant offensive lineman, and Spencer Fano was just that for the Utes this season,\u201d said Bill Bender, the 2025 FWAA President from The Sporting News. \u201cHe was a force as both a pass blocker and helped power a Utah run offense that ranked second in the nation in yards per game. He continues the proud tradition of this award.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Big 12\u2019s Offensive Lineman of the Year, Fano led Utah\u2019s (10-2) offensive front \u2013 known as the Wasatch Front \u2013 in paving the way for the second-most rushing yards in school history at 3,237 to date, which ranks second in FBS and first among Power Conference teams.\u00a0The right tackle has an 84.8 overall grade this season from Pro Football Focus, ranking 12th in FBS.<\/p>\n

In the preseason at the Big 12 Media Days, Utah head coach Kyle Willingham, who announced he would step down at the end of the season today,\u00a0said he thought he had a set of five starting offensive linemen who would all be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft, with Fano at the top. The group entered 2025 as one of the most experienced offensive lines in the country, coming into the year with 234 combined career games played. All 234 combined games in that preseason total were played at Utah; there were\u00a0no transfers.<\/p>\n

Utah reset its 2025 offense to be built around the run game and has now closed its regular season listing seventh nationally at 478.6 total yards per game. The team lit up the scoreboard with 40.9 points per game \u2013 sixth in the country \u2013 and led the Big 12 in third-down conversions (52.8%).<\/p>\n

The Utes enter their Dec. 31 SRS Distribution Las Vegas\u00a0Bowl matchup against Nebraska needing just 27 yards and two touchdowns to break their single-season program rushing records. One of Utah\u2019s team captains, Fano has allowed just five pressures and five hurries on the quarterback and has yet to allow a sack in 357 pass blocking opportunities, per PFF. He was also part of a unit that only allowed 11 sacks, tied for eighth nationally. That protection allowed Utah to throw for multiple touchdowns in 10 of 12 games.<\/p>\n

“Spencer Fano has been on our radar\u00a0all season and was an Outland Player of the Week,” said Steve Richardson, FWAA Executive Director.\u00a0 “He has been a major\u00a0factor in the Utes’ success moving the ball in the wide open Big 12. He obviously is going to be a high draft pick and greatly help some NFL team.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The junior has been a mainstay of the Utes\u2019 offensive line for the past three seasons starting in 30 consecutive games, 25 of them at right tackle. He has 36 career starts in his 37 total games.<\/p>\n

Fano was the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week on the weekend of Nov. 1 following Utah\u2019s 45-14 win over Cincinnati, earning PFF\u2019s highest national grade while the Utes rolled up 480 total yards. The Utah offensive line he captains was named the Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week four times (Sept. 2, Oct. 13, Oct. 27, Nov. 15).<\/p>\n

Fano is the second consecutive offensive lineman to win the Outland Trophy, following Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. in 2024, and the fifth from the offensive side of the last eight seasons.<\/p>\n

The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from finalists who are among selections to 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.<\/p>\n

The Outland Trophy, celebrating 80 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.<\/p>\n

The Outland Trophy is a member of the\u00a0National College Football Awards Association<\/b>\u00a0(NCFAA), which encompasses college football\u2019s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA\u2019s 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. For more information about the NCFAA, visit\u00a0ncfaa.org<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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2024 OUTLAND TROPHY AWARD WINNER<\/strong><\/p>\n

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DALLAS (FWAA) <\/strong>\u2013 Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr.<\/strong>, was named the recipient of the 79th Outland Trophy<\/strong>\u00a0on Thursday night during The Home Depot College Football Awards<\/strong>. The Outland Trophy is awarded annually to the nation\u2019s best college interior lineman on offense or defense. Banks is the Longhorns\u2019 fifth Outland Trophy winner and their second consecutive awardee.<\/p>\n

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\u2019Vondre Sweat\u2019s honor last season. Nebraska players won consecutive awards in 1971-72 and three straight from 1981-83.<\/p>\n

Banks, a 6-4, 320-pound junior from Humble, Texas, was selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America <\/strong>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\u2019 new affiliation in the Southeastern Conference gives the SEC an Outland winner in three of the last five seasons.<\/p>\n

Game after game, Banks consistently grades among the FBS\u2019 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\u2019s most outstanding offensive line unit. He was the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week on Oct. 15 following Texas\u2019 34-3 win over rival Oklahoma and earned the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week twice (Sept. 30 and Oct. 14).<\/p>\n

Heading into its second straight College Football Playoff, hosting\u00a0Clemson in a Dec. 21 first round game, Texas\u2019 offense is averaging 445.4 yards per game, 33.6 points per game and 6.2 yards per play with Banks as its cornerstone at left tackle. The Longhorns are No. 13 in the FBS in passing offense (281 ypg), 15th in team passing efficiency (154.92), 16th in completion percentage (66.3 percent), 18th in total offense (445.4 ypg) and 25th in scoring offense (33.6 ppg). Texas averages 164.4 yards and 4.5 yards per carry and has rushed for more than 100 yards in 10 of 12 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Behind Banks\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

Banks is the latest winner among Texas\u2019 fine tradition with the Outland Trophy. Prior to\u00a0Sweat\u2019s award last season were defensive tackle Brad Shearer (1977), defensive lineman Tommy Nobis (1965) and tackle Scott Appleton (1963). Like Banks, each of Texas\u2019 previous Outland Trophy winners, finalists or semifinalists was a\u00a0native Texan.\u00a0Banks is coached by offensive line coach Kyle Flood.<\/p>\n

Nebraska\u2019s back-to-back winners were Larry Jacobson (1971) and Rich Glover (1972) followed by Dave Rimington (1981, ’82) and Dean Steinkuhler (1983).<\/p>\n

The official presentation to Banks 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.<\/p>\n

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