BATON ROUGE — LSU defensive tackle Chad Lavalais is one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, the Football Writers Association of America announced on Monday.
The Outland Trophy annually goes to the top interior lineman in college football and is selected by the FWAA All-America Committee with input from the membership.
The 2003 Outland Trophy winner will be named on Dec. 11 during the ESPN College Football Awards Show in Orlando. The annual presentation banquet, which is sponsored by the Omaha Sports Committee, will be Jan. 8 in Omaha, Neb.
Lavalais, a 6-3, 292 pound senior from Marksville, La., is the leader of one of the nation’s best defenses. The Tigers, ranked No. 3 in the nation and 11-1 overall, rank first in the nation in scoring defense (10.7 points per game), second in total defense (260.4 yards per game) and third in rushing defense (67.7 yards per game).
Until last week, no team had scored more than 19 points in a game against LSU and only two teams went over 100 yards rushing in a game against the Tigers this season.
Lavalais leads the Tigers with six sacks and 15 tackles for losses. He’s also recorded 21 quarterback pressures, five batted down passes, one interception and one blocked field goal.
Lavalais, a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week this season, has already been named First Team All-America by the Football Writers. He’s also one of five finalists for the Nagurski Award, which is presented annually to college football’s top defender.
Other finalists include Arkansas offensive tackle Shawn Andrews and Iowa offensive tackle Robert Gallery.
Presented since 1946, the Outland is the third oldest award in major college football behind the Heisman and Maxwell awards. And it is named after the late John Outland who created the award a year before his death.
An All-American lineman at the University of Pennsylvania at the turn of the century, Dr. Outland created the award to recognize linemen. He believed linemen needed more recognition.
The first Outland Award was presented to the late George Connor of Notre Dame.