Ochoa Named to Outland Watch List

June 19, 2006

LAWRENCE, Kan. — University of Kansas offensive lineman David Ochoa has been named to the 2006 Outland Trophy watch list the Football Writer’s Association of America (FWAA) announced Monday. Fifty-four standout linemen from around the country were nominated for consideration in the preseason.

Ochoa, a senior from Houston, Texas, was a 2005 All-Big 12 honorable-mention selection by both the league’s head coaches and the Associated Press. He started all 12 games as the team’s center last year. Ochoa, who also was a team captain last season, has started every game since the beginning of his sophomore campaign.

The Outland Trophy has been awarded to the best offensive or defensive lineman in college football since 1946. The winner is selected by the FWAA’s All-America Committee, which chooses the association’s 25-man team and picks three Outland Trophy finalists.

The 2005 Outland Trophy announcement will take place Dec. 7 in Orlando, Fla., on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show. The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee and First Data Corporation, is set for Jan. 11, 2007, in Omaha, Neb.

The Outland Trophy has been awarded annually by the FWAA since 1946. It is named after the late John Outland, a lineman at Kansas and Pennsylvania at the turn of the century.

Additional Outland Trophy candidates may be added during the course of the season. Tackles, guards and centers are eligible for consideration.