Whomever USC coach Clay Helton picks to replace Cody Kessler at quarterback, he'll have impressive talents blocking for him. The Trojans placed three of their five starting offensive linemen, including both offensive tackles, on the Outland Trophy watch list that was released Friday. Tackle Zach Banner, the son of former NFL first-round draft pick Lincoln Kennedy, tackle Chad Wheeler and guard Damien Mama were selected to the list, and USC was the only school to place three offensive linemen on the list.
Clemson also placed three, but one of those was a defensive lineman (Carlos Watkins). Only offensive linemen and interior defensive linemen are eligible to win the Outland Trophy. The Football Writers Association of America selected 70 players to the watch list: 22 offensive tackles, 20 guards, 17 defensive tackles and 11 centers.
The last four Outland Trophy winners have all been chosen in the first round of the NFL draft: Stanford's Joshua Garnett (San Francisco 49ers), Iowa's Brandon Scherff (Washington Redskins), Pittsburgh's Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams) and Texas A&M's Luke Joeckel (Jacksonville Jaguars).
Semifinalists for the 2016 Outland Trophy will be announced on Nov. 17, followed by three finalists on Nov. 22, and the winner will be revealed on Dec. 8.
Watch lists for other awards will be released this month as follows:
July 5: Bednarik Award / Maxwell Award
July 6: Mackey Award / Rimington Trophy
July 7: Lou Groza Award / Ray Guy Award
July 8: Bronko Nagurski Trophy / Outland Trophy
July 11: Jim Thorpe Award
July 12: Butkus Award
July 13: Biletnikoff Award / Wuerffel Trophy
July 14: Davey O'Brien Award / Doak Walker Award
July 15: Walter Camp Award / Paul Hornung Award
2016 Outland Trophy watch list
Montravius Adams, DT, Auburn
Brian Allen, C, Michigan State
Zach Banner, OT, USC
Adam Bisnowaty, OT, Pittsburgh
Chris Borrayo, G, California
J.T. Boyd, C, East Carolina
Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma
Mason Cole, C, Michigan
Parker Collins, G, Appalachian State
Austin Corbett, OT, Nevada
Tyrell Crosby, OT, Oregon
Tyrone Crowder, G, Clemson
Dion Dawkins, OT, Temple
J.J. Dielman, OT, Utah
Pat Elflein, G, Ohio State
Dan Feeney, G, Indiana
Kyle Fuller, C, Baylor
Antonio Garcia, OT, Troy
Will Geary, DT, Kansas State
Avery Gennesy, OT, Texas A&M
Davon Godchaux, DT, LSU
Jay Guillermo, C, Clemson
Darius Hamilton, DT, Rutgers
Jon Heck, OT, North Carolina
Treyvon Hester, DT, Toledo
Daniel Isidora, G, Miami
Martez Ivey, G, Florida
Roderick Johnson, OT, Florida State
Dorian Johnson, G, Pittsburgh
Jaleel Johnson, DT, Iowa
Jarron Jones, DT, Notre Dame
Alex Kozan, G, Auburn
Forrest Lamp, OT, Western Kentucky
Ului Lapuaho, G, BYU
Nick Linder, C, Miami
Lowell Lotulelei, DT, Utah
Erik Magnuson, OT, Michigan
Damien Mama, G, USC
Conor McDermott, OT, UCLA
Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
Taylor Moton, OT, Western Michigan
Storm Norton, OT, Toledo
Larry Ogunjobi, DT, Charlotte
Tyler Orlosky, C, West Virginia
Ethan Pocic, C, LSU
Billy Price, G, Ohio State
Greg Pyke, G, Georgia
Jake Replogle, DT, Purdue
Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
Chase Roullier, G, Wyoming
Nico Siragusa, G, San Diego State
Dan Skipper, OT, Arkansas
Tashon Smallwood, DT, Arizona State
Tanzel Smart, DT, Tulane
Braden Smith, G, Auburn
Chris Taylor, G, Tulane
Vincent Taylor, DT, Oklahoma State
Wyatt Teller, G, Virginia Tech
Cameron Tom, C, Southern Miss
Jon Toth, C, Kentucky
Travis Tuiloma, DT, BYU
Clint Van Horn, OT, Marshall
Eddie Vanderdoes, DT, UCLA
Dan Voltz, C, Wisconsin
Carlos Watkins, DT, Clemson
Chad Wheeler, OT, USC
Dylan Wiesman, G, Tennessee
Connor Williams, OT, Texas
Fred Zerblis, G, Colorado State
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter *@ChaseGoodbread*.