DALLAS, TX — The Football Writers Association of America has announced the preseason watch list for the 2020 Outland Trophy, recognizing 85 standout interior linemen representing all 10 Division I FBS conferences and independents. This is the 75th anniversary season for the Outland Trophy.
Buffalo's Kayoda Awosika, Miami's Tommy Doyle, Toledo's Bryce Harris and WMU teammates Mike Caliendo & Jaylon Moore represented the MAC. Western Michigan joins Air Force, Appalachian State, BYU and West Virginia as the schools with two or more representatives on the Outland's preseason list.
Caliendo enters as Western Michigan's returning starter at left guard. He has played in 38 career games with 36 starts, the last 33 at left guard. A 6-foot-4, 300-pound product of Brookfield, Wis., he earned second team All-MAC accolades in 2019. Caliendo was also a first team CoSIDA Academic All-District 5 honoree in 2019. He is a three-time Academic All-MAC (2017-18-19) selection and three-time MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete (2017-18-19).
Moore is WMU's returning starter at left tackle and a preseason first team all-league pick by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. He has played in 31 career games with 26 starts, all consecutively at left tackle. Moore, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound native of Detroit, finished the 2019 season by earning second team All-MAC honors.
Awosika has been the Bulls' starting right tackle for the past two seasons. He was an All-MAC Second Team selection in 2019 after being a part of one of the best offense lines in school history. UB's offensive line was named honorable mention for the Joe Moore Award as one of the top 15 offensive line units in the nation in 2019 and helped block for an offense that rushed for a school-record 3,256 yards and allowed a program-low eight sacks, second fewest in the country.
Doyle earned first team All-MAC honors last season, starting 13 games at left tackle. He earned the team's Offensive Power Player of the Year Award was named Academic All-MAC as well.
Harris missed all of last season due to injury. He was a 2018 second-team All-MAC selection at center. He has appeared in 38 games as an offensive lineman, making 30 starts at center and guard. In 2018, he was part of an offensive line that helped the Rockets lead the MAC in scoring (40.4) and rank second in total offense (443.8) and rushing (215.9).
The recipient of the 75th Outland Trophy will be announced in early December. The official presentation to the winner will be made in Omaha, Neb., at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner sponsored by Werner Enterprises and produced by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, scheduled for Jan. 13, 2021.
