Utah's Spencer Fano nominated for renowned college football award

Utes star offensive lineman is in contention for another prominent college football award

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham and his program have a contender for the 2025 Lombardi Award in starting tackle Spencer Fano. | Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

Preseason accolades continue to roll in for Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano.

After being named an All-American by multiple outlets and earning a spot on the All-Big 12 team ahead of his junior season, Fano was nominated to the watch list for the Lombardi Award on Tuesday.

Fano's one of 11 offensive tackles in the country to be recognized as a preseason candidate for the 2025 Lombardi Award; a national honor presented annually to the most outstanding linemen and linebackers in college football. The 6-foot-6 Spanish Fork, Utah, native is also one of five players from the Big 12 to receive a spot on the award's watch list going into the regular season.

It marks the third consecutive preseason in which a Utes player has been named to the Lombardi Award watch list, as Fano extends a streak former Utah defensive lineman Junior Tafuna started with the first of back-to-back selections in 2023.

Fano's considered one of the top right tackles in the nation by the Walter Camp, Pro Football Focus and ESPN after he put together an impressive 2024 campaign.

Utah Utes offensive lineman Spencer Fano. | Photo by Eli Rehmer, Utah Athletics

On top of posting the best run-blocking grade (91.8) and overall grade (93.0) among Football Bowl Subdivision tackles last season, Fano also graded out as the second-most-valuable Power Four tackle in the country according to PFF. He received All-American honors from PFF, the Associated Press and Walter Camp for his efforts, and has since been labeled as the No. 1 returning offensive lineman in the country by PFF.

In addition to the Lombardi Award, Fano is also an early contender for the Outland Trophy, alongside Utah left tackle Caleb Lomu.

The winner of the Lombardi Award will be honored on Dec. 10.

Congrats to @FanoSpencer for making the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐋𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭! This award honors the most outstanding college football lineman, on either offense or defense‼️

📰: https://t.co/YOPbMMkSKo#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/Q9YptsaSp9

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 12, 2025