Darian Kinnard named a semifinalist for Outland Trophy

On Wednesday, Darian Kinnard was named one of the six semifinalist for the Outland Trophy Award. This award is given at the end of the year to the nation‘s most outstanding interior lineman. The award is presented by the Football Writers Association of America.

Along with Kinnard, the other semifinalists include:

Jordan Davis, Georgia Defensive Tackle

Ikem Wkwonu, NC State Offensive Tackle

Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa Center

Evan Neal, Alabama Offensive Tackle

Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio State Offensive Tackle

Kinnard finds himself in some pretty good company if you ask me.

The Outland Trophy is the third-oldest major college football award behind the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell 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.

These six semifinalists will be trimmed to three finalists next week and then the award winner will be chosen on December 9th at the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.

Kinnard is Kentucky’s very first Outland Trophy nominee and is very well deserving considering what he has done for the program over the last couple of years and for establishing himself as a key part of the 'Big Blue Wall.'

Kudos to Kinnard let‘s hope he can bring home the hardware!