Army West Point Black Knights Offensive Line Wins Joe Moore Award

The Army West Point Black Knights offensive line was awarded the top award for offensive line play in college football.

Dec 9, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Army Black Knights wide receiver Noah Short (15) celebrates a play with offensive lineman Lucas Scott (65) during the first half against the Navy Midshipmen at Gillette Stadium. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Army West Point Black Knights offensive line was named the winner of the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the college game’s best offensive line each season.

The Black Knights (11-1) learned of the win in the final day of preparation before the Army-Navy game on Saturday.

The Black Knights are up for the award against Oregon and Texas, both of which advanced to the College Football Playoff.

The team was presented with the award at their hotel while preparing to face the Midshipmen (8-3).

This is the first time Army has won the award. It is also the first time a service academy has won the award.

"I'm proud of the performance of our entire team this season but none more than our outstanding offensive line,” Army head coach Jeff Monken said. “They are truly the best in the country and the best offensive line on any team I've ever been a part of. They are tough, rugged, physical, play together, and are well coached by Mike Viti and Matt Drinkall. They have paved the path for the nation's best run game and two rushers of over 1000 yards. This award is an honor and a source of pride for our entire team."

While the award is for the collective offensive line, the Black Knights have started the same five players up front all season — left tackle Connor Finucane, left guard Bill Katsigiannis, center Brady Small, right guard Paolo Gennarelli and right tackle Lucas Scott.

Led by the quintet, Army led the nation in rushing with 314.2 rushing yards per game. Army was the only team in the country that averaged 300 or more yards per game. Army also averaged 5.7 yards per carry, the most for a Black Knights offensive since 2017.

The Black Knights’ offense became just the fifth team since 2000 to rush for at least 200 yards and two rushing touchdowns in each of their first 12 games of the season.

The offensive line helped Army finish with the fourth-most yards before contact per rush (2.81) in FBS. Plus, Army led the nation in rushing despite facing the highest percentage of plays (80.2%) with eight or more defenders stacked against them.

 The award is named for Moore, considered one of the college game’s top offensive line coaches. The Penn State alum coached offensive linemen at Pitt from 1980-85, Temple from 1986-87 and Notre Dame from 1988-96. While with the Irish, all but two of his starting offensive linemen made it to the NFL.