DALLAS, Texas – Texas junior left tackle Connor Williams has been named to the 2017 watch list for the Outland Trophy, announced by the Football Writers Association of America on Thursday morning. The award is given annually to the nation's most outstanding interior lineman, which includes all offensive linemen and defensive tackles.



Williams looks to become the first Longhorn since Brad Shearer in 1977 to win the award. Tommy Nobis (1965) and Scott Appleton (1963) have also won the award, while four Longhorns – Dan Neil (1996), Leonard Davis (2000), Justin Blalock (2006) and Malcom Brown (2014) – were all named finalists.



Coming off an impressive sophomore campaign, Williams has garnered much preseason attention thus far. In addition to the Outland Trophy watch list, he was also named to the Maxwell Award watch list – given annually to College Football's Player of the Year. He was named a preseason All-American by Sporting News, College Football News and Athlon Sports and also to the preseason All-Big 12 Team.



Last season, Williams started 11-of-12 games and was named a consensus first-team All-American. He was just the fourth sophomore in UT history (joining Hub Bechtol in 1944; Russell Erxleben in 1976 and Earl Thomas in 2009) to earn first-team honors from one of the NCAA's five teams used to recognize consensus All-Americans. He was named first-team All-Big 12 and also earned honorable mention as the league's Offensive Lineman of the Year. Williams helped the Longhorns average 491.3 yards per game and finish 16th nationally in total offense, their first Top-20 team finish since 2008.



As a freshman in 2015, Williams was named a first-team freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, USA Today and ESPN. He started all 12 games at left tackle and was named honorable mention All-Big 12 by the league's coaches. He helped block for a rushing attack that ranked 18th in the nation and third in the Big 12 with 224.8 yards per game. That 2015 offense was just the fourth at Texas since 1950 to record three games with six rushing touchdowns in a season.



The Outland Trophy is named for Dr. John H. Outland, an All-America tackle at the University of Pennsylvania in 1897. The winner of the 72nd Outland Trophy, which was first presented in 1946, will be announced live on ESPN at The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thurs., Dec. 7.