Two Nebraska football players are on the initial Outland Trophy watch list released Thursday morning. Offensive guard Spencer Long and defensive tackle Baker Steinkuhler are among the 71 players on the watch list for the nation’s top linemen as voted on by the Football Writers of America.
 
Long enjoyed a breakout season in 2011, starting every game and helping Nebraska rank 15th nationally at 217.2 yards per game. He helped the Huskers top 200 yards rushing on seven occasions, including three games of at least 300 rushing yards. He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the media in 2011 and an honorable-mention All-Big Ten choice by the league’s coaches.
A two-year starter for the Blackshirts, Steinkuhler started all 13 games for Nebraska in 2011, totaling 40 tackles, including a pair of sacks from his defensive tackle spot. The 6-foot-6, 290-pounder has started 26 games for the Huskers over the past two seasons, earning honorable-mention all-conference recognition in both 2010 (Big 12) and 2011 (Big Ten).
 
The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from three finalists who are part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 25-man team and eventually the three Outland finalists to be named on Nov. 19. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner.
 
The Outland Trophy, presented annually since 1946, is the third oldest award in major college football. The winner of the 67th Outland Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn and Kansas at the turn of the century, will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 6 on ESPN.
 
The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be held on Jan. 10, 2013, in Omaha, Neb.