GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Three Gators were named to the Outland Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch lists for the 2025 season. Both awards are associated with the National College Football Awards Association and are featured on The Home Depot College Football Awards. 

Outland Trophy

The Outland Trophy was created in 1935 and named after Dr. John H. Outland who was an All-American tackle at the University of Pennsylvania. The trophy is awarded to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman and the recipient is selected by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

Senior offensive linemen Jake Slaughter and Austin Barber were both named to the preseason watch list. Both Slaughter and Barber left their marks in the 2024 season and returned for a final year with the Gators to help the team compete to their highest potential.

Slaughter is coming off a strong season for the Gators as the team’s starting center in all 13 games. Throughout the season, Slaughter recorded an 83.9 pass block grade, was ranked fifth nationally among centers with an offense grade of 81.1, was seventh in the country with a 79.0 run block grade and leads in the team in offensive snaps (800), PFF offense, pass block and run block grades.

Starting in all 13 games as left tackle, Barber provided another source of leadership on the offensive line for the 2024 season. Barber logged a total of 729 offensive snaps with a run block grade of 70.0 according to PFF. His ability to offer protection for his quarterbacks earned him a SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honor following the team’s trip to Mississippi State where they defeated the Bulldogs 45-28. Barber also managed to standout from other offensive linemen against Mississippi State by recording his first collegiate touchdown.

The watch list will be narrowed down to a group of six or seven semifinalists on Nov. 19, 2025 and then narrowed down further to three finalists by the FWAA committee on Nov. 25, 2025 before the winner is announced on Dec. 12, 2025.

Bronko Nagurski Trophy

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy was created in 1993 and is presented to the top defensive player in college football. Like the Outland Trophy, the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy is determined by the FWAA. The award was created for Bronko Nagurski who played tackle on defense and fullback on offense for the University of Minnesota from 1927 to 1929.

On the other side of the ball, senior defensive lineman Caleb Banks had a stellar 2024 season. Starting in 10 games and recording 21 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a recovered a fumble, Banks improved all of his stats from his first year with the Gators. For his performance against Ole Miss in Week 13, Banks captured a SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week.

The watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be narrowed down to a group of four finalists by the FWAA committee in mid-to-late November. From there, the winner of the trophy will be announced on Dec. 8, 2025.

A complete list of the 2025 Outland Trophy watch list nominees can be found here and the complete list of the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list nominees can be found here.