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Texas' DJ Campbell earns spot on Outland Trophy watch list

On3 imageby: Justin Wells07/29/25
DJ Campbell
DJ Campbell (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Texas senior OL DJ Campbell was placed on the preseason watch list for the 80th Outland Trophy, the Football Writers Association of America and the Greater Omaha Sports Committee announced Tuesday morning. The Outland Trophy has been awarded annually since 1946 to the nation’s best college interior lineman on offense or defense.

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It’s Campbell first time being honored on the preseason watch list for the award. UT has won back-to-back Outland Trophies and five overall. Former Longhorn left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. won the prestigious award in 2024 and former Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat took home the trophy in 2023. Former Texas defensive tackle Scott Appleton (1963), linebacker Tommy Nobis (1965) and defensive tackle Brad Shearer (1977) have also won the award.

Campbell garnered preseason First-Team All-SEC honors on offense on July 18. A 6-foot-3 offensive guard from Arlington, Texas, Campbell has played in 37 games with 30 starts, including starting in all 16 games in 2024. Last season, he was part of an offensive line unit that was nabbed a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding offensive line unit. He was a key piece to a UT offensive line that protected for QB Quinn Ewers, who completed 293-of-445 passes (65.8 percent) for 3,472 yards and 31 touchdowns while averaging 248.0 yards per contest in 14 starts. Ewers finished sixth in the FBS in passing touchdowns (31), 14th in passing yards (3,472), 14th in points responsible for (202), 25th in passing efficiency (149), 26th in passing yards per game (248.0), 26th in completion percentage (65.8 percent), and 27th in completions per game (20.93). He was a part of a balanced Longhorn offense that averaged 278.8 passing yards (14th FBS), 158.8 rushing yards and 33 points (29th FBS) per game. He blocked for running backs Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner.

Blue was drafted in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, and Wisner is the SEC’s only returning 1,000-yard rusher ahead of the 2025 season. Wisner ran for 1,064 yards on the ground in 2024.

The recipient of the 2025 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Friday, Dec. 12. The official trophy 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 on Jan. 21, 2026 in Omaha, Neb.

UT opens the 2025 slate on the road at Ohio State at 11 a.m. CT Saturday, Aug. 30, inside Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The game will broadcast as part of FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff, and ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast live from the Ohio State University campus. College GameDay will air for three hours from 8-11 a.m. CT, hosted by Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit and other ESPN personalities. It will be the final show for longtime ESPN personality Lee Corso as he is set to retire following Week 1 of the 2025 season.

(via Texas release)

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