Wake Forest Athletics
Lingruen Named To Preseason Outland Trophy Watch List
7/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 13, 2004
Winston-Salem, NC - Wake Forest senior center Blake Lingruen was selected to the Outland Trophy preseason watch list, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced.
The Outland Trophy annually is presented to the top interior lineman in college football on either side of the ball - tackles, centers, guards - in a vote of the FWAA All-America Team Committee in late November.
Lingruen, a 6-foot-4, 298 pound center from Liberty Center, Ohio, started all 11 games last year for the Demon Deacons despite suffering a knee sprain in the season opener. He was chosen by The Sporting News as a second-team junior class All-American. Lingruen graded out at 88 percent for the season and averaged 9.3 knockdowns per game. He was the ACC Lineman of the Week after helping pave the way for five rushing touchdowns against Duke.
Lingruen is one of 57 interior lineman on the preseason watch list.
Presented since 1946, the Outland Trophy is the third oldest award in college football behind the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award. It is named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at the University of Pennsylvania at the turn of the century.
Last season's Outland Trophy winner, offensive tackle Robert Gallery of Iowa, was selected by the Oakland Raiders as the No. 2 pick of the NFL draft. Gallery was the third Iowa player to win the Outland Trophy.
The 2004 Outland Trophy winner will be announced on Dec. 9 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show from Orlando, Fla. The Outland Trophy will be presented to the winner by the Omaha Sports Committee on Jan. 13 at a banquet in Omaha, Neb.
