Outland Trophy finalists named … There is an interesting group of finalists announced for this year’s Outland Trophy which is awarded annually to the top lineman in college football. This year’s group of 5 finalists includes Alabama junior OT Cam Robinson, Ohio State C/G Pat Elflein, LSU C Ethan Pocic, Washington State junior OT Cody O’Connell and Texas sophomore OT Conor Williams. Robinson, of course, is generally rated as the top offensive lineman for the 2017 draft, while Elflein and Pocic are both considered to be among the top 2-3 guys at their respective positions. On the other hand, WSU’s O’Connell is a late riser who didn’t start for the Cougars until this year, but has made up for lost time with an outstanding season which saw him named to a number of mid-season All-america teams. The 6-5, 355-pound O’Connell, who is appropriately nicknamed ‘the Continent’ by his teammates, also has started to attract some attention from pro scouts, although more as an OG than OT. Indeed, the GBN currently has him ranked as the #3 OG overall behind Dan Feeney of Indiana and Pitt’s Dorian Johnson an the 55th best prospect overall on the GBN Big Board. What makes O’Connell such an attractive prospect inside is that while he is a dominant drive blocker, he’s also a very good pass protector. Meanwhile, for the record, Texas’ Williams is a true soph who won’t be draft eligible until 2018.
