O-Line Award is Only Accolade in College Football to Honor a Unit
NEW YORK (August 28, 2018) — The Joe Moore Award for the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit in College Football will be back for a fourth season in 2018, announced The Foundation for Teamwork, which has presented the unique award since 2015.
“We’re excited to get back into the film room and trenches to evaluate and honor great college football O-line play,” said Aaron Taylor, CBS college football analyst and founder of the Joe Moore Award. Taylor played guard at the University of Notre Dame for the award’s namesake, the legendary offensive line coach Joe Moore.
“Football is the ultimate team sport, so it’s rewarding to present the only award in college football that honors a position group,” said Cole Cubelic, chairman of the voting committee. “The Joe Moore Award has assembled a top-notch voting committee of expert O-line evaluators, who as a group are the most credible in the country. And, we have created an incredibly thorough review process that we feel is second to none among college football awards.”
2018 Selection Milestones
The midseason honor roll for the Joe Moore Award will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 16. Semifinalists will be revealed on Tuesday, Nov. 20, and finalists will be announced Tuesday, Dec. 4. Selection of the 2018 Joe Moore Award winner will be made public after a surprise visit to the winning university’s campus in late December.
Selection Criteria
The Joe Moore Award judges O-line units from tackle to tackle, solely on six criteria: toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique and finishing.
Voting Committee
The Joe Moore Award voting committee comprises 13 individuals who are highly knowledgeable about offensive line play, including former linemen, coaches, talent evaluators and media analysts. This group conducts in-depth analysis by reviewing game tape every week of the season to assess both the fundamentals and subtleties of overall O-line performance.
Two new members have joined the voting committee in 2018, including Phil Steele, who is widely respected for his annual preseason magazine, Phil Steele’s College Football Preview, which is a book the experts cannot do without, as it has been the most accurate magazine for more than 20 years. A frequent guest on national TV and radio programs, Steele is regarded as one of the country’s preeminent college football experts.
“In the 24 years of producing my college football magazine, one of my top honors is being included on the voting panel for the Joe Moore Award, which is an exclusive club for ex-offensive linemen and offensive line coaches,” Steele said.
Also new to the voting committee in 2018 is Pat Hill, former head coach of Fresno State University, which under his leadership routinely scheduled – and defeated – highly ranked programs from power conferences. During his 40-year coaching career he served as O-line coach for Fresno State and the University of Utah, and offensive coordinator for the University of Arizona and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He was also O-line coach for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons.
The voting committee is anchored by former standout O-line players, coaches and media members, including Chairman Cole Cubelic (Auburn, SEC Network); Charles Arbuckle (UCLA, Indianapolis Colts); Randy Cross (UCLA, San Francisco 49ers); Gerry DiNardo (Notre Dame, head coach at LSU); Mike Golic, Jr. (Notre Dame, ESPN); Dave Harding (Duke, Blue Devil Network); Barrett Jones (Alabama, St. Louis Rams); Duke Manyweather (Humboldt State University, Offensive Line Scouting and Development Consultant); Geoff Schwartz (Oregon, Carolina Panthers); Aaron Taylor (Notre Dame, Green Bay Packers); and Lance Zierlein (NFL draft analyst, NFL.com).
Evaluation Process
As in years past, evaluations for the Joe Moore Award will be made primarily through review of actual game film and offensive line coach-provided cut-ups on the DragonFly Division I Network. In addition to reviewing game tape every week, the voting committee will later go through each of the finalists’ season-long highlight reels and multiple back-to-back quarters of game film. In addition, STATS, one of the industry leaders in sports data analytics, will again provide advanced O-line data and analytics to provide context and clarity and to help streamline the film evaluation process.
The voting committee will select the midseason honor roll, semifinalists and finalists. After the finalists have been selected, a vote will be held to select the 2018 recipient of the Joe Moore Award by a voting body of 200-plus members. This voting body includes all of the current offensive line coaches at the Division I/FBS level, as well as former players, coaches, colleagues of Coach Moore and select media members.
Past Award Recipients
Past recipients of the Joe Moore Award include the offensive lines of the University of Alabama (2015), the University of Iowa (2016) and the University of Notre Dame (2017).
About the Joe Moore Award
The Joe Moore Award is named after Joe Moore, widely regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in college football history, most notably for his work at Notre Dame and the University of Pittsburgh. Coach Moore sent 52 players on to the NFL, including Bill Fralic, Mark May, Russ Grimm, Jimbo Covert and others. The Joe Moore Award trophy, crafted by legendary sports sculptor Jerry McKenna, is the largest trophy in college football, standing at a height of 6 feet and weighing in at 800 pounds. The perpetual trophy is made available for display by the winning university until the conclusion of the following college football season.
About The Foundation for Teamwork
The Foundation for Teamwork is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to fostering teamwork in all societal endeavors and bring that spirit of collective achievement to athletics, education, and organizations. Find out more at joemooreaward.com and follow the Joe Moore Award on Twitter (@joemooreaward), Instagram (@joemooreaward), and Facebook (facebook.com/JoeMooreAward).