THE WATCHLIST

New York, NY --- Friday, August 4th, 2023

The Rimington Trophy is proud to release its 2023 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 2023 Rimington Trophy Watchlist is as follows:

CONFERENCE SCHOOL FIRST NAME LAST NAME CLASS
ACC        
  Miami (FL) Matthew  Lee RS Sr
  Florida State Maurice Smith RS Jr
  Clemson Will Putnam Grad
  NC State Dylan McMahom RS Jr
  Duke Jacob Monk Grad
  Louisville Bryan  Hudson RS Sr
  Pittsburgh Jake Kradel RS Sr

SEC

       
  Arkansas Beaux Limmer RS Sr
  Alabama Seth McLaughlin Sr
  Georgia Sedrick Van Pran RS Jr
  Mississippi State Cole Smith Grad
  Tennessee Cooper Mays Sr
  Texas A&M Bryce Foster So

BIG 12

       
  West Virginia Zach Frazier Jr
  Baylor Clark Barrington Grad
  BYU Connor  Pay Jr
  Texas Tech Rusty Staats Sr
  Houston Jack Freeman Sr
  Kansas Mike Novitsky RS Sr
  Texas Jake Majors Jr
  TCU John Lanz Sr

BIG10

       
  Michigan Drake Nugent Grad
  Michigan State Nick Samac Sr
  Purdue Gus Hartwig Sr
  Iowa Logan  Jones Jr
  Nebraska Ben Scott Jr

PAC 12

       
  Oregon State Jake Levengood RS Sr
  USC Justin Dedich RS Sr
  Oregon Jackson Powers-Johnson Jr
  UCLA Duke Clemens Sr
  Washington Matteo Mele Sr
  California Matthew Cindric Sr

Conference USA

     
  UTEP Andrew Meyer RS Sr

American

       
  SMU Branson Hickman Jr
  Memphis Jacob Likes RS Sr
  Tulane Sincere Haynesworth Sr
  UAB Brady Wilson RS Jr

Independent

       
  Notre Dame Zeke Correll Sr

MAC

       
  Western Michigan Jacob Gideon Jr

Sun Belt

       
  Appalachian State Isaiah Helms Sr

 

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.

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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 2023, 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. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.

NCFAA Watch List Calendar

Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2023 preseason watch list calendar:

Mon., July 31: Maxwell Award

Tue., Aug. 1: Outland Trophy/Bronko Nagurski Trophy

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

Thu., Aug. 3: Paul Hornung Award/Wuerffel Trophy 

Fri., Aug. 4: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy

Mon., Aug. 7: Biletnikoff Award

Tue., Aug. 8: Davey O’Brien Award

Wed., Aug. 9: Doak Walker Award

Thu., Aug. 10: Butkus Award/Paycom Jim Thorpe Award

Fri., Aug. 11: Walter Camp Award

Mon., Aug. 14: Bednarik Award

For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter at @NCFAA.

 

Rimington Trophy Contact:

Rich Hahn

516.746.0077

[email protected]