Pair of Texas Offensive Linemen Land on the Outland Trophy Preseason Watchlist

When the preseason award watchlist comes out, you know that the college football season is just right around the corner.

The Texas Longhorns add another pair to another preseason watchlist — the Football Writers Association of America listed Texas tackle Trevor Goosby and guard Brandon Baker among its 68 linemen on its preseason watchlist for the Outland Trophy.

For the past 80 years, the Outland Trophy has been awarded to the best offensive or defensive lineman.

Texas Has a Rich History With The Award

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Detailed view of the jersey of Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. (78) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

This piece of bronze has been awarded a couple of times to the Longhorns, and in the past four seasons, a Texas player has been given the honor twice.

The first Longhorn given the title was defensive tackle Scott Appleton during Texas 1963 National Championship season. His prolific play even earned him votes in the Heisman Trophy race that season, where he finished in fifth place.

Legendary two-way player Tommy Nobis became the second Longhorn to earn the Outland Trophy in an unforgettable 1965 campaign that saw him win a whole lot of metal. Nobis won the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy and the Maxwell Trophy as the best college football player.

Brad Shearer closed out the Longhorns' Outland Trophy run in the 20th Century, winning it in 1977 as a part of one of the best defensive line units in College Football history. Shearer, along with Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve McMichael, terrorized opposing offenses in the Southwest Conference.

It would take almost 50 years for another Texas lineman to win the award before T’Vondre Sweat broke the streak in 2023 with an All-American season. In Sweat’s senior season in Austin, the defensive tackle racked up 18 solo tackles, 27 assists, eight tackles for a loss and two sacks.

The Longhorns became the first team to see its players win the award back-to-back since the early 1980s, when Nebraska had a three-peat. Kelvin Banks Jr.’s dominant season at left tackle, anchoring a veteran offensive line, became the first Longhorns offensive lineman to earn the award since Nobis in the 1960s.

Banks Jr. also won the Lombardi Award and the Southeastern Conference’s Jacob’s Blocking Trophy, as the first Longhorn to earn the honor.

With Goosby and Baker entering their second season of starting on the offensive line, the duo has a good shot at etching themselves as lineman No. 6 for the Longhorns on the Outland Award’s long history.

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