THE WATCHLIST
New York, NY --- Friday, July 22, 2022
The Rimington Trophy is proud to release its 2022 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 2022 Rimington Trophy Watchlist is as follows:
| CONFERENCE | SCHOOL | FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | CLASS |
| ACC | ||||
| Clemson | Will | Putnam | SR | |
| Miami | Jakai | Clark | JR | |
| North Carolina State | Grant | Gibson | RS GRAD | |
| Virginia Tech | Johnny | Jordan | GRAD | |
| Wake Forest | Michael | Jurgens | JR | |
| American | ||||
| Memphis | Jacob | Likes | RS JR | |
| Tulane | Sincere | Haynesworth | JR | |
| UCF | Matt | Lee | RS JR | |
| Big 12 | ||||
| Baylor | Jacob | Gall | GRAD | |
| Iowa State | Trevor | Downing | RS SR | |
| Kansas | Mike | Novitsky | RS SR | |
| Oklahoma State | Preston | Wilson | SR JR | |
| TCU | Steve | Avila | SR | |
| West Virginia | Zach | Frazier | SO | |
| Big Ten | ||||
| Michigan | Olu | Oluwatimi | GRAD | |
| Minnesota | John Michael | Schmitz | SR | |
| Ohio State | Luke | Wypler Jr | JR | |
| Penn State | Juice | Scruggs | RS SR | |
| Purdue | Gus | Hartwig | RS SO | |
| Wisconsin | Joe | Tippmann | JR | |
| C-USA | ||||
| UAB | Will | Rykard | RS JR | |
| WKU | Rusty | Staats | RS JR | |
| Independent | ||||
| BYU | Connor | Pay | RS SO | |
| Notre Dame | Jarett | Patterson | GRAD | |
| MAC | ||||
| Western Michigan | Jacob | Gideon | RS SO | |
| Mountain West | ||||
| San Diego State | Alama | Uluave | SR | |
| PAC-12 | ||||
| California | Matthew | Cindric | SR | |
| Oregon | Alex | Forsyth | SR | |
| Oregon State | Jake | Levengood | RS JR | |
| Stanford | Drake | Nugent | SR | |
| USC | Brett | Neilon | RS SR | |
| SEC | ||||
| Arkansas | Ricky | Stromberg | SR | |
| Auburn | Nick | Brahms | SR | |
| Florida | Kingsley | Eguakun | RS SO | |
| Georgia | Sedrick | Van Pran | RS SO | |
| Mississippi State | LaQuinston | Sharp | RS SR | |
| Texas A&M | Bryce | Foster | SO | |
| Sun Belt | ||||
| Coastal Carolina | Willie | Lampkin | JR | |
| Georgia State | Malik | Sumter | RS SR | |
| Troy | Jake | Andrews | JR |
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 30,000 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 NFL data supported through studying every player, on every player, of every game. In 2014, they began to do so for college football, offering top service for professional and college programs.
About the NCFAA
The Rimignton Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. The NCFAA encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.
NCFAA Watch List Calendar
The members of the NCFAA are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period. Sixteen of the association's 25 awards are presenting their preseason watch list during this time as the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates. Following is the (remaining) 2022 preseason watch list calendar:
Mon., July 25: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award/Butkus Award
Tues., July 26: Outland Trophy/Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Wed., July 27: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Thurs., July 28: Hornung Award/Wuerffel Trophy
Friday, July 29: Walter Camp Award
Mon., Aug. 1: Bednarik Award
Rimington Trophy Contact:
Rich Hahn
516.746.0077