While many people’s focus revolves around the races for the Heisman, Doak Walker and Biletnikoff Awards, there’s another that some would argue allows all of those other players to do their jobs.
The Joe Moore Award is annually handed out to college football’s top offensive line, with the workhorses in the trenches receiving praise for their efforts to keep their teammates upright.
And on Wednesday, the award’s committee released its 10 semifinalists for the honor, with a trio of SEC teams making the cut:
“In a season when consistency has been the hardest thing to find, these units found it, each in its own way,” Cole Cubelic, chairman of the Joe Moore Award voting committee, said. “Although the skill sets and competition levels vary, the standard doesn’t: five men on the same page, physical at the point of attack, looking to finish every snap like it’s the one that decides the game.”
However, as with most awards in this sport, the final month of the campaign is when statements are made and voters are swayed. Whichever of these units is able to withstand harsher weather and the late-season grind as a whole will ultimately be handed the Joe Moore Award.
“The common thread with this year’s semifinalists is their teams are winning because of their offensive lines, not in spite of them,” Aaron Taylor, who played guard at the University of Notre Dame for the award’s namesake, the legendary offensive line coach Joe Moore. “But nobody has reached the top yet. November is where offensive lines get exposed or get remembered, and the climb only gets steeper from here.”
Parker is currently the sports editor for Gulf Coast Media in Foley, Alabama. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
