DALLAS (FWAA) The Southeastern Conference led all conferences with 16 players on the 81-man Outland Trophy Watch List released by the Football Writers Association of America on Friday.

Following the SEC, the Pac-12 checked in with 13 players, the Big Ten and Big 12 with 11 each, and the ACC with eight. All 10 FBS Conferences are represented on the list as were five players combined from independents Notre Dame and BYU. There is one returning interior lineman from the FWAA's 2014 All-America team, Baylor's senior offensive tackle Spencer Drango.

The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from three finalists who are a part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 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 are not eligible.

2015 OUTLAND TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST (81)
Vadal Alexander, LSU, G	Nick Martin, Notre Dame, C
Jack Allen, Michigan State, C	Ryker Mathews, BYU, OT
Adrian Bellard, Texas State, OT	Kyle Murphy, Stanford, OT
Andrew Billings, Baylor, DT	Andrew Ness, Northern Illinois, C
Beau Blackshear, Baylor, DT	Thomas Niles, Central Florida, DT
Austin Blythe, Iowa, C	Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss, DT
Evan Boehm, Missouri, C	Tyler Orlosky, West Virginia, C
J.T. Boyd, East Carolina, C	Joe Ostman, Central Michigan, DT
Jake Brendel, UCLA, C	Davion Pierson, TCU, DT
Vernon Butler, Louisiana Tech	Greg Pyke, Georgia, G
Le'Raven Clark, Texas Tech, OT	Jarran Reed, Alabama, DT
Kenny Clark, UCLA, DT	Andrew Reue, Rice, G
Maliek Collins, Nebraska, DT	Hassan Ridgeway, Texas, DT
Jack Conklin, Michigan State, OT	A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama, DT
Austin Corbett, Nevada, OT	Cam Robinson, Alabama, OT
Joe Dahl, Washington State, OT	Isaac Seumalo, Oregon State, G
Ty Darlington, Oklahoma, C	Brandon Shell, South Carolina, OT
Sheldon Day, Notre Dame, DT	Matt Skura, Duke, C
Taylor Decker, Ohio State, OT	Matt Sparks, UMass, C
Spencer Drango, Baylor, OT	Garrett Stafford, Tulsa, OT
Parker Ehinger, Cincinnati, G	Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame, OT
Pat Elflein, Ohio State, G	Freddie Tagaloa, Arizona, OT
Dan Feeney, Indiana, G	Chris Taylor, Tulane, G
Joshua Garnett, Stanford, G	Wyatt Teller, Virginia Tech, G
Adam Gotsis, Georgia Tech, DT	Spencer Tretola, Arkansas, G
Darius Hamilton, Rutgers, DT	Max Tuerk, USC, C
Ike Harris, East Carolina, OT	Travis Tuiloma, BYU, DT
Marcus Henry, Boise State, C	Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss, OT
Joey Hunt, TCU, C	Landon Turner, North Carolina, G
Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M, OT	Halapoulivaati Vaitai, TCU, OT
Roderick Johnson, Florida State, OT	Clint Van Horn, Marshall, OT
Gerrand Johnson, Louisiana-Monroe, DT	Eddie Vanderdoes, UCLA, DT
Tyler Johnstone, Oregon, OT	Dan Voltz, Wisconsin, C
Chris Jones, Mississippi State, DT	Adolphus Washington, Ohio State, DT
Ryan Kelly, Alabama, C	Christian Westerman, Arizona State, G
Nick Kelly, Arizona State, C	Cody Whitehair, Kansas State, OT
Denver Kirkland, Arkansas, OT	Antwaun Woods, USC, DT
Alex Kozan, Auburn, G	Connor Wujciak, Boston College, DT
Jimmy Kristof, Western Michigan, G	Avery Young, Auburn, OT
Luther Maddy, Virginia Tech, DT	Anthony Zettel, Penn State, DT
Corey Marshall, Virginia Tech, DT
By conference: SEC 16, Pac-12 13, Big 12 11, Big Ten 11, ACC 8, American Athletic 6, Independents 5, Mid-American 4, Mountain West 3, Conference USA 3 and Sun Belt 2.
By position: Offensive Tackles 24, Offensive Guards 15, Centers 17, Defensive Tackles 25.
Tackles, guards and centers are eligible for consideration Candidates may be added or removed during the season

The list will be trimmed to six or seven semifinalists on Nov. 19. Five days later three Outland Trophy finalists will be named by the FWAA. The winner of the 70th Outland Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn at the turn of the 20th century, will be announced on ESPN on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 10 for the first time from the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be held on Jan. 14, 2016, in Omaha, Neb. This year, Maryland's Randy White, a College Football Hall of Famer and the 1975 Outland Trophy winner, will be honored and presented an Outland Trophy, which was not given in the era in which he won the award.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary this season, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,400 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.

The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 22 awards boast more than 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.

Beginning in 2015, The Home Depot College Football Awards will have a new home at the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta. Airing live on ESPN on Dec. 10, 2015, college football's brightest stars will be honored for their performance on and off the field.

The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 11-day period this month. Sixteen of the association's 22 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates.