KANSAS STATE’S BEEBE IS OUTLAND TROPHY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

 

KANSAS STATE’S BEEBE IS OUTLAND TROPHY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (FWAA) –  Guard Cooper Beebe has been a versatile and powerful presence along the Kansas State offensive line. The senior led the Wildcats to an offensive showcase with 587 total yards – a program record for a conference game – in a 41-3 home win over TCU. For his efforts in the eye-catching win, Beebe earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Oct. 21, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

For the first time, the FWAA is selecting an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA’s weekly national honors from 12 awards. The recipient of the 2023 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 7 or 8. The official presentation to the winner 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. 11, 2024.

Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the season. Beebe was a member of the preseason watch list. Other weekly winners will be part of the Outland Trophy watch list going forward.

Beebe, 6-4, 335-pound senior guard from Kansas City, Kan., has started 39 consecutive times and 42 overall for Kansas State (5-2). He’s a versatile force on the line with starts at guard in each of the Wildcats’ seven games this season but has also played 106 snaps at right tackle and 20 snaps at left tackle. Beebe has not surrendered a sack in his last 1,041 pass blocking plays dating back 36 games to the 2020 Iowa State contest, according to Pro Football Focus.

The details of Beebe’s play along with the rest of the line are exhibited in Kansas State’s offensive surge this season. The Wildcats’ 587 total yards against TCU were the sixth-most in school history. They rushed for 343 yards, a season-high total, and are averaging. 5.62 yards per rush attempt, tied for the eighth-best mark among FBS schools. K-State had 406 total yards at halftime, marking the first time it went over 400 yards in a half since at least 1999.

The Wildcats are third in the nation in rushing offense at 232.7 yards per game. Their 20 rushing touchdowns lead the Big 12 Conference and they have rushed for 200 or more yards in four straight games, the first time they’ve done that since 2016. K-State has 59 rushes this season that have gone for 10 or more yards, including a season-high 16 against TCU.

Beebe was the 2022 Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year and a consensus First Team all-conference selection for a second consecutive season.

Kansas State does not have an Outland Trophy winner or semifinalist in its past. In fact, the only Kansas State offensive lineman to earn FWAA All-America status was Dalton Risner, a second-team member in 2018.

The Wildcats host Houston at Noon ET Saturday on ESPN2.

For the first time, the FWAA is selecting an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA’s weekly national honors from 12 awards. The recipient of the 2023 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 7 or 8. The official presentation to the winner 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. 11, 2024.

Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the season. The weekly winners, including Turner this week, will be part of the Outland Trophy watch list going forward.

Turner, a 6-4, 300-pound redshirt senior from Canton, Ohio, via Florida’s IMG Academy, was a catalyst on an offensive line that pushed LSU to average 8.5 yards per play and 6.1 yards per rush; the Tigers have topped 200 yards rushing in their last three games at Ole Miss (233), at Missouri (274) and against Auburn (238). LSU didn’t have a negative-yardage play on any of its designed run plays and running back Logan Diggs (97 yards) and quarterback Jayden Daniels (93) each neared the 100-yard rushing mark.

LSU took over the game scoring touchdowns on all four of its second-half possessions and converted on 6-of-9 third down opportunities.

The Tigers have an experienced line and Turner, who graduated earlier this year, leads them with 27 career starts, 25 of them at center. All five have at least 20 career starts and LSU has benefitted from having the same starting five up front in their first seven games for the first time since 2013. Combined, the five starters have 127 starts in their LSU careers.

Turner is one of three players on LSU’s roster who were on the Tigers’ 2019 national championship team along with running backs John Emery and Josh Williams – all three were true freshmen. The 2019 title season was also the last time for LSU to have an FWAA All-American when Lloyd Cushenberry made the second team.

LSU has one Outland Trophy winner in its past in defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey in 2007. Two other linemen, defensive tackle Chad Lavalais (2003) and guard Alan Faneca (1997) were previous finalists. Another Tigers center, Ethan Pocic, was a semifinalist in 2016.

No. 19 LSU hosts Army on Saturday, with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on the SEC Network.

The Outland Trophy, celebrating 78 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.

The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.

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The Greater Omaha Sports Committee, founded in 1977, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, consisting of more than 1,300 men and women from the City of Omaha, the State of Nebraska, and others. The Committee serves to communicate, develop, initiate and promote sports activities in the Greater Omaha sports area. In addition to the Outland Trophy Award Events and Dinner, the Greater Omaha Sports Committee promotes high school, college, and professional sports in the Greater Omaha area and the Midwest.  For more information contact Bob Mancuso Jr., Chairman at bmancuso@showofficeonline.com or see showofficeonline.com.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.