TEXAS’ MAJORS EARNS OUTLAND TROPHY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

TEXAS’ MAJORS EARNS OUTLAND TROPHY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

 

DALLAS (FWAA) – Texas center Jake Majors was in the middle of an offensive onslaught by the Longhorns in Ann Arbor last Saturday, helping Texas (2-0) rush for 143 yards among its 389 total-yard output in its 31-12 win at Michigan. For leading another key early-season road win for the Longhorns, Majors earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Sept. 7, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

This is the second season for the FWAA to select an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA’s weekly national honors from 13 awards. The recipient of the 2024 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 12. 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. 22, 2025.

The weekly winners, including Majors this week, are added to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list going forward.

Majors, a 6-3, 315-pound senior from Prosper, Texas, who has started 43 of his 44 career games, was the highest-graded offensive lineman for the Longhorns facing two of the nation’s top defensive tackles in Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. Majors aided in Texas averaging 4.5 yards per rushing attempt, didn’t allow a sack and held the defensive interior pair to a combined four tackles and no quarterback pressures. Michigan’s rush defense was fifth nationally last season allowing only 90.0 yards per game.

Majors and quarterback Quinn Ewers silenced the Big House early, guiding the Longhorns to scoring opportunities on all five first-half possessions, converting three touchdowns and one field goal into a 24-3 halftime lead. The only one that did not end in a score was a missed field goal attempt that followed a touchdown pass that was called back due to a penalty.

The win over the No. 10 Wolverines was Texas’ second top-10 road win in as many seasons after taking down No. 3 Alabama last season. The win snapped the Wolverines’ win streaks of 16 overall victories, a Big Ten-record 29 regular-season wins, 23 home wins (their longest home streak in more than 50 years), 23 non-conference wins at home dating back to 2014, and 15 overall non-conference regular-season victories. Texas’ 19-point win was its largest margin of victory against a top-10 team on the road since 1979.

Majors has benefited from one of the most stable coaching staffs in the nation. This season marks the fourth year, or all of Majors’ career, for Texas to have the same offensive play-caller (head coach Steve Sarkisian) and offensive coordinator and line coach (Kyle Flood). The Longhorns, with Majors in the middle of the offense, have scored 30 or more points in their last five games extending back to the 2023 season.

Texas has a long history with the Outland Trophy with four all-time winners. Last season, defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat won the trophy. Prior to that, Brad Shearer (1977), Tommy Nobis (1963) and Scott Appleton (1963) were honored as the nation’s top interior lineman by the FWAA.

Texas hosts UTSA in a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN.

The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from finalists who are a part of the annual FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects a 26-man first team and eventually three Outland finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner. Only interior linemen on offense or defense are eligible for the award; ends are not eligible.

The Outland Trophy, celebrating 79 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, 13 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.

Werner Enterprises, Inc. delivers superior truckload transportation and logistics services to customers across the United States, Mexico and Canada. With 2022 revenues of $3.3 billion, an industry-leading modern truck and trailer fleet, more than 14,000 talented associates and our innovative Werner EDGE technology, we are an essential solutions provider for customers who value the integrity of their supply chain and require safe and exceptional on time service. Werner provides Dedicated and One-Way Truckload services as well as Logistics services that include 1truckload brokerage, freight management, intermodal and final mile. As an industry leader, Werner is deeply committed to promoting sustainability and supporting diversity, equity and inclusion. Werner Enterprises common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “WERN.” For further information about Werner, visit the company’s website at werner.com.

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. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.