Outland Trophy watch list 2017: 5 favorites to win

The Outland Trophy is the most prestigious award in college football for guys who play in the trenches. Here are five favorites to win the trophy in 2017.

Winning in the trenches is not sexy, but arguably the most crucial component to winning football games at any level. Since 1946, the Outland Trophy has been given to the best interior lineman in college football. It is named after a two-time All-American in John H. Outland who wanted the big uglies to get some respect back in the day.

Today, the Outland Trophy is really one of a few college football end of season awards that matters. Winning the Outland Trophy is right up there with winning the Chuck Bednarik Award for best defensive player as probably the most significant individual college football honors outside of the Heisman Trophy, of course.

On Thursday, the 2017 Outland Trophy watch list was released. The amount of interior line talent on this watch list is impressive. However, only one guy can win the award in December. Last December, it went to Alabama Crimson Tide left tackle Cam Robinson.

Who will win it this holiday season? Here are five favorites for the Outland heading into 2017.

5

Ed Oliver

Defensive Tackle, Houston Cougars

When he committed to his hometown Houston Cougars as a five-star recruit, many questioned why defensive tackle Ed Oliver didn’t just go to a Power 5 institution to play his college ball? Well, the guy just really loves Houston and will be the face of the Cougars football team in 2017 now that former head coach Tom Herman went up the road to Austin to lead the reeling Texas Longhorns.

Former Houston offensive coordinator Major Applewhite is now in charge of the Cougars football team. He may have been a former Longhorns signal caller himself under Mack Brown, but Applewhite has to love that he has Oliver wreaking havoc for him in 2017. The AAC is a solid Group of 5 conference, but nobody is going to contain Oliver for long when they play Houston.

Expect mid-way through 2017 for Oliver to be a man amongst boys. There’s a good chance that he’ll be bothered about sitting out his true junior season in 2018 to not effect his draft stock for 2019. The guy already feels like a lock to go in the top-10 after his true junior year in Houston.

The Cougars may have lost their national resonance with Herman departing for Texas, but the Cougars will still have two more years of Oliver destroying offensive interiors in conference play. If Houston wins The American and plays in a meaningful bowl game, Oliver has to be in the mix to win the Outland Trophy, right?