DALLAS (FWAA) – The following players are considered the top candidates for the 2002 Outland Trophy, which is presented by the Football Writers Association of America to the top interior lineman in college football each season.

The Outland Trophy

The winner of the 2002 Outland Trophy will be announced Dec. 12 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show from Orlando, Fla. Three finalists will be selected by the FWAA All-America Committee in late November and will appear on the show.

The winner also will receive his trophy during a banquet on Jan. 9 in Omaha, Neb. The banquet is sponsored by the Omaha Sports Committee, which additionally will honor a past Outland winner at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Omaha.

Miami's Bryant McKinnie won the 2001 Award while leading his team to the national championship. Tennessee's John Henderson, the 2000 Outland winner, was one of the three finalists for the 2001 Award, but failed to become the second person to win back-to-back Outland Trophies. Dave Rimington of Nebraska (1981 and 1982) remains the only two-time winner.

The Outland Trophy has been presented every year since 1946 and is the third oldest award in major-college football. The award is named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn during the turn of the century. Dr. Outland established the award in 1946, a year before his death, with the help of the FWAA. He believed it was important for lineman to receive greater recognition. And for the last 56 years they have because of his award.