DALLAS (FWAA) – Minnesota’s Greg Johnson moved from guard to center for the first time this season and produced one of the top grades among FBS offensive lineman during the Gophers’ 27-24 win at Washington in the Big Ten opener for both teams. For his versatility and high grade that helped Minnesota snap a five-game road losing streak, Johnson earned the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Sept. 26, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
This is the fourth season for the FWAA to select an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA’s weekly national honors from 12 awards. The recipient of the 2026 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 11. 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, Neb., on Jan. 27, 2027.
Johnson has played guard along the Minnesota front for the bulk of the 2026 season but moved to center Saturday for his first start at the position since the 2025 Duke’s Mayo Bowl. It was hardly a unfamiliar move as it marked his 14th career start there after starting all 13 games in that spot in 2025. Johnson had an overall grade of 88.4 by Pro Football Focus with a run-blocking score of 92.8 as Minnesota racked up 27 points, the most Washington has allowed at home since a 35-28 win over Utah in 2023.
The 6-foot-6, 325-pound senior and home-state product from Prior Lake, Minn., currently owns an offensive grade of 88.4 this season from PFF, tops nationally among guards and second among all offensive linemen. He also leads the FBS among all blockers with a 92.8 run blocking grade, more than four points better than the second-best mark.
Per PFF, Johnson has not been credited with allowing a quarterback pressure this season. With that protection in front of him, Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey was 21-of-29 passing for 204 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the win in the teams’ first meeting in 49 years.
Minnesota was fortunate to use the same starting lineup through the first two games of the season with Ashton Beers, Johnson and Nathan Roy returning to starting spots at center, left guard and left tackle, respectively. Tony Nelson started at right guard and Daniel Shipp is a first-year starter at right tackle. The offensive line did not allow a sack in the opener, its first such game with no sacks allowed since 2024. Beers, along with Johnson, also has been credited with not allowing a pressure this season.
Johnson is the first Minnesota player to earn the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor. The weekly winners are added to the award’s preseason watch list going forward. Johnson was already a preseason member of that list.
Minnesota has three Outland Trophy winners in its past and a recent finalist. Gophers center Greg Eslinger (2005) was the last winner alongside defensive tackle Bobby Lee Bell (1962) and guard Tom Brown (1960). Offensive lineman John Michael Schmitz was a finalist for the Outland Trophy in 2022.
The FWAA will announce the Outland Trophy semifinalists on Nov. 18, and those players will then be paired down to three finalists announced on Nov. 24. The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from those finalists who will be part of the annual FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects a 26-man first team and eventually the three Outland finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner. Only interior linemen on offense or defense are eligible for the award; ends and edge rushers are not eligible.
The Outland Trophy, celebrating 81 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 Dr. Outland, an All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1890s, eventually took up practice in Kansas City, Mo. An avid outdoorsman, Dr. Outland believed linemen did not get the credit they deserved and wanted an award to recognize them.
The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored nearly 1,000 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information or follow on X at @NCFAA.
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The Greater Omaha Sports Committee, founded in 1977, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, consisting of more than 1,300 men and women from the City of Omaha, the State of Nebraska, and others. The Committee serves to communicate, develop, initiate and promote sports activities in the Greater Omaha sports area. In addition to the Outland Trophy Award Events and Dinner, the Greater Omaha Sports Committee promotes high school, college, and professional sports in the Greater Omaha area and the Midwest. For more information contact Bob Mancuso Jr., Chairman at bmancuso@showofficeonline.com or see showofficeonline.com.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,200 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.
