COLORADO STATE’S GARDNER IS OUTLAND TROPHY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

COLORADO STATE’S GARDNER IS OUTLAND TROPHY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

DALLAS (FWAA) – Colorado State center Jacob Gardner helped keep the Rams at the top of the Mountain West standings Saturday, guiding his team to a 17-6 win over New Mexico. For his FBS-high blocking grades and consistent play for CSU, Gardner earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Oct. 26, 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 12 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 are added to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list going forward. Gardner was already a part of the FWAA’s preseason Outland Trophy watch list.

Gardner anchored a Rams (5-3) offense that rushed for 192 yards and 5.3 yards per carry against New Mexico, a win in front of 36,980 home fans that has CSU at 3-0 in MW play and tied for the league lead with No. 19 Boise State. The Rams’ current three-game win streak has pushed them above .500 for the first time under head coach Jay Norvell and the first time since 2017.

Through Week 9, Gardner’s 89.0 PFF grade is higher than any other center in the country. His run blocking grade for centers is the highest in the FBS at 84.8 with a margin of five points over the next-best. Gardner’s 86.6 pass blocking grade is second. He has yet to allow a sack or a quarterback hit in 214 pass-blocking snaps and only one pressure. As a full line, CSU didn’t give up a sack against New Mexico.

Gardner, a 6-4 graduate student from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is the most experienced player in the MW with 53 career starts. He played two seasons under then-head coach Jay Norvell at Nevada, then followed him to Colorado State in 2022 and has started every game of his career in both programs. He is a three-time team captain at CSU and earned second team All-MW honors in 2023. He was the Rams’ first offensive lineman to earn all-conference honors since 2017.

CSU’s offensive line is full of experience, which it used to combine to allow just 14 sacks last season, tied for 11th fewest in the nation. The line has allowed just eight through eight games in 2024 (tied for 24th). In his career Gardner has 31 starts at left tackle and 21 at center, his current post.

The Rams have never had a Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist. The FWAA recognized two CSU players on its All-America team last season, placing tight end Dallin Holker and defensive end Mohamed Kamara on the second team.

Colorado State travels to Nevada for an 8 p.m. ET game Saturday on the CBS Sports Network.

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.