| Conference | Player | School | Class (2026) |
| ACC | |||
| Joshua Bates | SMU | R-JR | |
| Matt Craycraft | Duke | GRAD | |
| Ryan Carretta | Pittsburgh | R-JR | |
| American (AAC) | |||
| Adam Lepkowski | UAB | GRAD | |
| Brady Small | Army | SR | |
| Cam Nichols | Navy | SR | |
| Vincent Fiacable | FAU | GRAD | |
| Big 12 | |||
| Anthony Boswell | Houston | JR | |
| Bruce Mitchell | BYU | R-SR | |
| Landen Livingston | West Virginia | R-SR | |
| Sheridan Wilson | Texas Tech | SR | |
| Big Ten | |||
| Ashton Beers | Minnesota | 5th Year | |
| Bray Lynch | Indiana | R-SR | |
| Brock Riker | Penn State | R-SO | |
| Carson Hinzman | Ohio State | R-SR | |
| Iapani Laloulu | Oregon | SR | |
| Jackson Carsello | Northwestern | GRAD | |
| Jake Guarnera | Michigan | JR | |
| Jake Renfro | Illinois | 7th Yr. | |
| Justin Evans | Nebraska | SR | |
| Kade Pieper | Iowa | R-JR | |
| Killian O’Connor | USC | R-SR | |
| Landen Hatchett | Washington | SR | |
| Michael Hershey | Maryland | JR | |
| Conference USA | |||
| Aaron Fenimore | Liberty | R-JR | |
| Steven Demboski | Delaware | 5th Year | |
| Independent | |||
| Ashton Craig | Notre Dame | 5th Yr | |
| MAC | |||
| Nicholas Gallegos | Eastern Michigan | GRAD | |
| Pac-12 | |||
| Jimmy Liston | Utah State | JR | |
| SEC | |||
| Braelin Moore | LSU | 5th Year | |
| Canon Boone | Mississippi State | GRAD | |
| Cole Best | Auburn | SR | |
| Coleton Price | Kentucky | SR | |
| Connor Robertson | Texas | 5th Year | |
| Dominick Giudice | Missouri | 5th Year | |
| Drew Bobo | Georgia | R-SR | |
| Harrison Moore | Florida | JR | |
| Jake Maikkula | Oklahoma | 5th Yr. | |
| Lyndon Cooper | Vanderbilt | GRAD | |
| Mark Nabou Jr. | Texas A&M | GRAD |
The Rimington Trophy is proud to release its 2025 preseason Watchlist. This year, the Trophy committee worked with Pro Football Focus (PFF) to narrow down its list to the top 40 centers. PFF grades every player on every play of every game on how well they execute their given assignment. That play-by-play grading allowed the Trophy committee to create a watchlist based both on nominations from the schools and data provided by PFF. Once the season begins, schools will be able to nominate their centers for late addition based on in-season merit.
While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these three prestigious teams to determine a winner:
· Walter Camp Foundation (WCF)
· Sporting News (SN)
· Football Writers Association of America (FWAA)
Because the selectors of these three All-America teams can place centers in a “mix” of offensive linemen that includes guards and tackles, their 11-man first teams can often have two centers. The Rimington Trophy committee’s policy is to count all players that play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, even though they may be listed as guards or tackles on the All- America teams.
The center with the most first team votes will be determined the winner. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with the most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy Committee, provided with data from Pro Football Focus.
The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the most outstanding center in NCAA Division I College Football. Since its inception, the award has raised over $5 million for the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
Dave Rimington, the award’s namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy’s only two-time winner as the nation’s finest college interior lineman. For more on the Rimington Trophy, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com
In 1993, Boomer Esiason’s son, Gunnar, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF). Boomer and his wife Cheryl founded the Boomer Esiason Foundation to raise funds and awareness for the cystic fibrosis community. To date, the Foundation has raised over $175 million and works to provide educational and financial resources to help people living with CF in the here and now.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs, digestive system, and reproductive system of about 40,000 Americans by causing a thick build-up of mucus that leads to blockage, inflammation, and infection.
Since 2006, PFF has built the world’s most comprehensive sports data and analytics database, relied on by top industry professionals and fans alike to power winning decisions. PFF analyzes every player and every play of every game to calculate player grades, in-depth performance stats, and rankings for the NFL, fantasy football, and NFL Draft. All 32 NFL teams use PFF data and tools, as do all 136 FBS teams, 90 FCS teams, professional leagues like CFL and UFL, media networks, player agencies, video game companies, and more. PFF is transforming sports strategy and decision-making across fantasy football and betting, in the front office and on the field. In 2025, PFF’s college analysts supported the Rimington Trophy in creating the Watchlist.
The Rimington Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.
