The Foundation for Teamwork is pleased to announce the four finalists for the 2023 Joe Moore Award presented by Enovis DonJoy brand, which annually recognizes the most outstanding offensive line unit in college football.
In 2023 from the initial pool of all 133 FBS offensive line units, the award has recognized 23 units on the midseason honor roll, 12 semifinalists and today announces the four finalists in the running to be named the top collegiate O-line in the country.
The finalists are (in alphabetical order) No. 6 Georgia , No. 13 LSU, No. 8 Oregon, and No. 2 Washington.
For games played through December 2nd, this year’s finalists have a combined record of 45-6, and average 506.6 total yards per game (compared to the national average of 385.6 total yards per game) and 175.0 rush yards per game (compared to the national average of 156.2 rush yards per game).
In addition, three of the finalists are in the Top 10 for the fewest sacks allowed and represent three of the Top 10 and four of the Top 13 Total Offenses, while three of the Top 10 and four of the Top 13 in the latest CFP poll.
The Joe Moore Award has annually presented this unique and prestigious award since 2015.
The award’s voting committee will announce the recipient of the 2023 Joe Moore Award after a surprise visit to the winning university’s campus in late December.
“Each season seems to have a theme when it comes to O-line play, and each of this year’s finalists embodies the toughness, physicality, effort, and strain that historically defines our position,” said Cole Cubelic, lead SEC Network sideline analyst, and Chairman of the Voting Committee.
“These dudes are a bunch of cavemen that consistently “look for work”, enforce instead of watch, strain to finish, and work to eliminate their man on every play.”
“Like in years past, in addition to the extensive film review and voting committee conference calls, we also solicited the opinions of more than ninety FBS head coaches that had personally faced many of the O-line units under consideration,” said Phil Steele, analyst and founder of the popular preseason magazine Phil Steele’s College Football Preview.
“It’s been an honor to be a part of an award that matters so much to the O-line community, and we take that responsibility seriously.”
“This year’s 12 semifinalists all had outstanding seasons, but after only two finalists last year, we now have a group of four finalists that the committee felt distinguished themselves through their effort, and consistently tough, physical play at the line of scrimmage,” said Aaron Taylor, CBS college football analyst and co-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.
“There is an undeniable relationship between excellence at our position and winning football,” said Lance Zierlein, NFL Draft analyst, and lead writer for NFL.com’s draft site.
“The exciting thing this year is that we got to see some outstanding line play in a variety of offensive styles. We fully expect the voting to be close this year, and all four of these finalists are worthy candidates to be considered the most outstanding in college football.”
“The finalists for the Joe Moore Award are among the best of the best in college football, epitomizing the spirit of toughness and the value of teamwork to accomplish commonly shared goals,” said Terry Ross, President of Enovis Bracing & Supports.
“DonJoy is proud to partner with the Joe Moore Award and provide the technology that protects players so they can perform at their best and it’s our honor to protect those who help protect others.”
Oregon (12-1)
- Oregon leads the nation with just five sacks allowed, four fewer than any other FBS team.
- Multiple sacks allowed just once in 13 games this season. Zero sacks allowed in nine of 13 games, including six of the last seven.
- Tied for fourth in the FBS with just 42 tackles for loss allowed.
- Helped the Ducks rank second in the nation in scoring (44.2 PPG), total offense (526.6 YPG) and passing offense (342.8 YPG), and third in yards per rush (5.86).
- Jackson Powers-Johnson is a finalist for the Rimington Trophy.
- Powers-Johnson was a two-time winner of the Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week, and was also an Outland Trophy semifinalist.
- Five-time winners of the Joe Moore Award Pancake of the Week, by three different players.
- What the committee is saying: “Man, these guys play in a way where it looks like they want to break the spirit of their opponent and hurt people’s feelings. Like it’s personal to them. They play with a physicality and finish to them that is equal parts caveman and blunt force trauma. They’ve become a JMA manistay due to their steady play and ability to grind on teams in the run game. They look to punish and pile drive in pass pro, and display a level of physicality that is rare in today’s college game. Fun unit with the goods to advance, if not win it.”
- What the committee is saying: “Incredibly disciplined unit that embodies the “five playing as one” we celebrate. They see things well, and quickly communicate and pass things off pretty well, pretty consistently. Well, like they’re all like the team consistency effort stuff like that’s there with them.”
- What the committee is saying: “This is a unit of enforcers, not watchers, and they play with the level of physicality that defines this award.”
Offensive line coach: A’Lique Terry
