UM offensive lineman Oluwatimi wins Outland, Rimington trophies

Michigan center Olu Oluwatimi was a double winner on Thursday, earning the Outland Trophy as the top interior lineman in the country and the Rimington Trophy awarded to the nation’s top center.

Oluwatimi, a 6-foot-3, 307-pound graduate transfer from Virginia, has anchored Michigan’s offensive line this season and helped the Wolverines to a 13-0 record and the No. 2 seed in the four-team College Football Playoff.

The Outland is selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) from three finalists that also included Pitt defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski.

Oluwatimi is the first center to win the Outland Trophy since 2005 (Minnesota’s Greg Eslinger) and the third winner from the offensive line of the last four seasons. He is the first winner from a Big Ten school since 2014 (Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff).

Last year while at Virginia, Oluwatimi was a finalist for the the Rimington.

“This was one of my individual goals, but you can’t achieve that without your teammates and the guys along the offensive line that you grind with every day,” Oluwatimi said in a release from the Rimington Award. “It feels incredible to be recognized with this award and I know there’s still more work to be done. Let’s go smash.”

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Michigan plays No. 3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 and the winner advances to the national championship. Michigan ranks sixth nationally in rushing and is seventh in scoring at 40.1 points per game.

"Olu is an exceptional leader, an elite football player, and an amazing human being,” Sherrone Moore, Michigan’s co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach, said in a statement.

“He is one of the best young men that I have ever been around. Olu is deserving of all the accolades that he receives, and we are especially excited that he is being recognized because he is a leader and tone-setter for our team and our offense. He makes our team better."

achengelis@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @chengelis