Entering this season, Utah Utes offensive tackle Spencer Fano was expected to be one of the best linemen in the country this season.
On Friday, he was named the best.
On an evening when many college football season awards were handed out, Fano won the Outland Trophy, which is given to the nation’s top interior lineman.
His brother Logan, who is also a teammate of his, broke the news to him in an emotional scene.
A junior this season for the Utes out of Timpview High in Utah County, Fano has started in all 12 games so far at right tackle heading into the Las Vegas Bowl and given up zero sacks.
He started all 12 games at right tackle last season, while in the 2023 campaign as a freshman he started 11 games at left tackle and one at right tackle.
Fano is the latest in a solid line of players with Utah ties who have won the Outland Trophy. Most recently, former Desert Hills High star Penei Sewell won it in 2019 while playing at Oregon.
Sewell went on to be the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and many are projecting a similar thing for the 6-foot-6, 308-pound Fano in the 2026 NFL Draft, as he’s widely expected to be a top 10 pick.