OMAHA, Neb. — The Greater Omaha Sports Committee revealed that Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano has been selected as the 2025 Outland Trophy recipient as part of ESPN’s College Football Awards Show on Friday evening. Fano is the first member of the program to receive the honor, which is presented each year to the nation’s best interior lineman.
 
He was informed of the news by his brother and teammate, defensive end Logan Fano, while surrounded by about 40 family members inside the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center.

“Winning this trophy means the world to me,” Fano said. “Since I first started playing offensive tackle as a kid, attaining this trophy has been one of my biggest goals. Being in this position is truly surreal and it’s hard to put what I’m feeling into words. I’m just so incredibly grateful and blessed to be surrounded by incredible people. To me this is a group accomplishment. I never would have reached something like this without my parents, my siblings, my coaches, my teammates and most of all my Heavenly Father. Thank you so much and Go Utes!”

 

Fano, a junior and native of Spanish Fork, Utah, has started all 12 regular season games at right tackle for the Utes as the team reengineered its offensive attack heading into the 2025 season. Voted by the league’s coaches as the 2025 Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year and first-team All-Conference, Fano protected for an offense that averaged 478.6 total yards per game—ranking seventh nationally during the regular season. To date, it is an improvement of 148.8 yards per game, the highest year-over-year change at Utah since at least 1996.

 

His prowess at right tackle has earned Fano an 84.0 overall grade this season from PFF, ranking eighth in FBS. He has helped open holes for a rushing attack that led the Power Conferences during the regular season with 269.8 yards per game. The Utes enter bowl season needing just 27 yards and two touchdowns to break single-season program rushing records.

 

The passing game has also been well-protected, with Utah keeping opponents without a sack in five different games and limiting the opposition to one sack in five more contests. Overall for the season, the team has averaged 0.92 sacks allowed per game, eighth-best in FBS.

 

Fano has played in 37 games with 35 starts in his three seasons at Utah.

 

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