Utah State Center Tyler Larsen named to 2013 Outland Trophy Watch List

Utah State Football

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State senior center Tyler Larsen was tabbed to the 2013 Outland Trophy Watch List for second-straight year it was announced Thursday. The Outland Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

Larsen is one of four Mountain West performers on the 75-player list joined by Boise State offensive tackle Charles Leno, Colorado State center Weston Richburg and Fresno State offensive tackle Austin Wentworth. Larsen is also one of two players from the state of Utah to be named to the Watch List along with BYU defensive tackle Eathyn Manumaleuna.

Overall, Larsen is one of just 11 centers from across the country named to the 2013 Outland Trophy Watch List.

Along with being named to the 2013 Outland Trophy Watch List, Larsen has also been named to the Rimington Trophy Fall Watch List, which honors the most outstanding center in college football. Larsen has also been named a preseason fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele entering his senior season, and a preseason first-team all-Mountain West selection by both Athlon Sports and College Sports Madness.

Larsen, a 6-4, 312-pounder from Salt Lake City, Utah (Jordan HS) enters his senior season having started 38 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the Mountian West and tied for the fifth-longest active streak in the nation. Larsen is a two-time first-team all-Western Athletic Conference honoree and the first USU offensive lineman to accomplish that feat since 1997.

During the 2012 season, Larsen tied for the team lead along with Schultz with an 86 percent overall performance grade, including 78 percent in technique and 83 percent in effort. He carried out the right assignment 97 percent of the time, including four games where he graded out at a perfect 100 percent. He also graded out above 90 percent two times in total performance, and above 80 percent 12 times in effort and seven times in technique. Overall, he posted 65.5 knockdowns on the season.

The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from three finalists who are part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 25-man team.

The list will be trimmed to six or seven semifinalists on Nov. 20. Five days later three Outland Trophy finalists will be named by the FWAA. The winner of the 68th Outland Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn at the turn of the 20th century, will be announced on ESPN on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 12.

The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be held on Jan. 9, 2014 in Omaha, Neb.

Utah State returns 49 lettermen (offense-23, defense-22, specialists-4) and 18 starters (offense-8, defense-7, specialists-3) from its most successful team in school history as USU ended the 2012 season with a school-best 11-2 record as it set school records for wins (11) and home wins (6), while recording just its second bowl win in school history with a 41-15 victory against Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. USU also won its first outright conference championship since 1936, as it went 6-0 in the Western Athletic Conference, and just its third in school history joining the 1921 and 1936 teams that both won Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles.

Utah State ended the 2012 season nationally ranked for just the third time in school history as it finished the year ranked 16th in the Associated Press poll, 17th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll and 22nd in the Bowl Championship Series standings. USU also finished the 2012 season winning its final seven games, which is tied for the fourth-longest active winning streak in the nation and tied for the third-longest winning streak in school history.

Utah State will open the 2013 season on Thursday, Aug. 29 at Utah and play its first Mountain West game the following weekend at Air Force on Saturday, Sept. 7. USU’s first home game of the 2013 campaign will be on Saturday, Sept. 14 against Weber State, while its first home Mountain West game will be on Saturday, Oct. 12 against Boise State.

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

<strong>The Football Writers Association of America</strong>

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,300 men and women who cover college football for a living. 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 gameday operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.

<strong>The Outland Trophy</strong>

The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients.

– USU –

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!