Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson was named on Wednesday as one of seven semifinalists for the Outland Trophy, which is presented annually to college football’s best interior lineman on offense or defense.
Johnson, a junior from Cincinnati, has started 23 straight games for the Buckeyes, who are averaging 501.9 yards of total offense this season. They are second in the country in scoring 46.8 points per game and have allowed just 37 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
Other semifinalists include Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, Michigan center Olusegun Oluwatimi, Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz, Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski, Pittsburgh defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and TCU offensive guard Steve Avila.
Johnson is looking to become the fifth Ohio State player to win the award, which is named after former Penn offensive tackle and halfback John H. Outland, joining offensive guard Jim Parker in 1956, nose tackle Jim Stillwagon in 1970, offensive tackle John Hicks in 1974 and offensive tackle Orlando Pace in 1996.
This marks the third straight year that a Buckeye has been named a semifinalist, with Johnson joining former offensive guard Wyatt Davis in 2020 and former offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere in 2021.
That said, three finalists for this year’s award will be named on Nov. 29. The winner will then be revealed during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards show on Dec. 8.
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