Senior offensive lineman graded at 87 percent with five knockdown blocks against UF last Saturday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – October 3, 2023
Senior offensive lineman Jeremy Flax was named the first Outland Trophy National Player of the Week, it was announced by the Football Writers Association of America on Tuesday. The FWAA is selecting an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA’s weekly national honors from 12 awards.
The Outland Trophy, celebrating 78 years since its founding, is the third-oldest major college football award. Created in 1946 when Dr. John Outland presented the FWAA with a financial contribution to initiate the award, the Outland Trophy has been given to the best interior lineman in college football ever since.
The recipient of the 2023 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 7 or 8. The official presentation to the winner will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner sponsored by Werner Enterprises and produced by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee in Omaha, Nebraska, on Jan. 11, 2024.
Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the season. The weekly winners, including Flax this week, will be part of the Outland Trophy watch list going forward.
Flax, a 6-foot-6, 325-pound senior from Detroit, graded at 87 percent with five knockdown blocks as UK commanded the line of scrimmage in Kentucky’s 33-14 win over No. 22/23 Florida. He did not allow a sack nor a quarterback pressure, had no penalties and didn’t miss an assignment. UK rushed for 329 total yards against a Florida defense that ranked 14th in rush defense at just 82.0 yards per game.
He also earned the Southeastern Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week on Monday.
Flax has seen action in 29 career games with 17 starts, including four this season.
Off the field, he graduated in December 2022 with a degree in community leadership and development and is currently working on an undergraduate certificate in social work.
Kentucky’s history with the Outland Trophy goes back almost to the award’s founding. Bob Gain, an offensive tackle, won the Outland in 1950 in only the fifth season of the postseason honor. Gain is the Wildcats’ only winner. Offensive tackle Darian Kinnard was a semifinalist in the 2021 season. Logan Stenberg was Kentucky’s last offensive lineman to earn FWAA All-America honors from the 2019 season.
The 20th-ranked Wildcats (5-0, 2-0 SEC) travel to top-ranked Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC) Saturday for a 7 p.m. ET matchup between the hedges on ESPN.