June 22, 2010
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech senior center Sean Bedford, a former walk-on who emerged in 2009 as the first team All-ACC center, was named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
The Outland Trophy recognizes the nation’s top interior lineman – offensive and defensive tackles, guards and centers. The third-oldest award in college football, the Outland Trophy will be narrowed to three finalists in late November and eventually the overall winner.
Bedford earned the starting job at center in the spring of 2009 and went on to start all 14 games last season. A two-time ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week, Bedford helped Georgia Tech lead the ACC in rushing offense and total offense.
No Georgia Tech player has ever won the Outland Trophy, although Craig Page was a finalist in 1998.
Bedford, an aerospace engineer major, is one of 12 centers on the watch list. Also on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, Bedford is one of 11 players from the ACC on the Outland Trophy watch list.
The Outland Trophy is named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn and Kansas at the turn of the century. The 2010 winner will be announced on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show on Dec. 9. The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be on Jan. 13 in Omaha, Neb.
Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh won the Outland Trophy last season.
The complete watch list can be found here.
