THE WATCHLIST

 

The Rimington Trophy Presents its

2024 Watchlist

 

New York, NY --- Friday, August 9th, 2024

The Rimington Trophy is proud to release its 2024 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.

The 2024 Rimington Trophy Watchlist is as follows:

 

CONFERENCE SCHOOL FIRST NAME LAST NAME CLASS
ACC        
  Boston College Drew Kendall RS JR
  Florida State Maurice Smith RS SR
  Louisville Pete Nygra RS JR
  NC State Zeke Correll GRAD
  Virginia Brian Stevens GRAD
  Wake Forest Luke Petitbon JR
  Stanford Levi Rogers 5th YR SR
  Georgia Tech Weston Franklin SR
  SMU Justin Osborne GRAD
         
SEC        
  Alabama Parker Brailsford RS SO
  Florida Jake Slaughter RS JR
  Georgia Jared Wilson JR
  Oklahoma Branson Hickman RS SR
  Tennessee Cooper Mays SR
  Texas Jake Majors SR
  Auburn Connor Lew SO
  Missouri Connor Tollison JR
  Mississippi State Ethan Miner SR
  South Carolina Vershon Lee RS SR
         
BIG 12        
  Cincinnati Gavin Gerhardt RS SR
  BYU Connor Pay SR
  Oklahoma State Joe Michalski RS SR
  Arizona State Leif Fautanu RS SR
         
BIG 10        
  Iowa Logan Jones SR
  USC Jonah Monheim RS SR
  Purdue Gus Hartwig SR
  Oregon Iapani Laloulu SO
  Ohio State Seth McLaughlin GRAD
  Nebraska Ben Scott SR
         
PAC 12        
  Oregon State Van Wells JR
         
Conference USA        
  Liberty Jordan White JR
  New Mexico State Canaan Yarro RS SR
         
American        
  Army Brady Small SO
  Navy Brent Self SR
  FAU Federico Maranges RS SR
  UAB Brady Wilson RS SR
  UTSA CJ James RS SR
  Memphis Trent  Holler RS SR
         
MAC        
  Western Michigan Jacob Gideon SR
Sun Belt        
  Louisiana Landon Burton RS SR
  Arkansas State Jacob Bayer SR
Mountain West        
  Colorado State Jacob   Gardner GRAD

 

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.

* * *

About the Rimington Trophy

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

About the Boomer Esiason Foundation

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 $160 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.

About Pro Football Focus

Since 2006, PFF has separated themselves from the pack in their ability to provide game-changing data supported through studying every player, on every play, of every game. In 2014, they began to do so for college football. In 2024, PFF's college analysts, led by Max Chadwick, supported the Rimington Trophy in creating the Watchlist.

About the NCFAA

The Rimington Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.

NCFAA Watch List Calendar

Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a 15-day period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2024 preseason watch list calendar:

Mon., July 29: Maxwell Award

Tue., July 30: Outland Trophy / Bronko Nagurski Trophy

Wed., July 31: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award

Thu., Aug. 1: Paul Hornung Award / Allstate Wuerffel Trophy

Fri., Aug. 2: Lou Groza Award / Ray Guy Award

Mon., Aug. 5: Walter Camp Award

Tue., Aug. 6: Doak Walker Award

Wed., Aug. 7: Biletnikoff Award

Thu., Aug. 8: Davey O’Brien Award

Fri., Aug. 9: Mackey Award / Rimington Trophy

Mon., Aug. 12: Bednarik Award

Tue., Aug. 13: Butkus Award

 

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Rimington Trophy Contact:

Rich Hahn

516.746.0077

[email protected]