The Rimington Trophy Presents its
2021 Watchlist
New York, NY — Friday, July 23, 2021
The Rimington Trophy is proud to release its 2021 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 school 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 2021 Rimington Trophy Watchlist is as follows:
Conference First Name Last Name Class Year Height Weight
ACC
Boston College Alec Lindstrom SR 6’3 295
Duke Jack Wohlabaugh RS SR 6’4 305
Louisville Cole Bentley SR 6’3 315
North Carolina State Grant Gibson SR 6’1 305
Virginia Olusegun Oluwatimi SR 6’3 310
American
Houston Kody Russey SR 6’1 290
Temple C.J. Perez GRAD 6’1 295
Tulane Sincere Haynesworth JR 6’1 310
Big 12
Iowa State Colin Newell SR 6’4 310
Kansas Mike Novitsky RS JR 6’5 295
Oklahoma State Danny Godlevske RS SR 6’3 300
TCU Steve Avila JR 6’4 314
Texas Tech Dawson Deaton SR 6’6 310
Big Ten
Illinois Doug Kramer SR 6’2 300
Iowa Tyler Linderbaum JR 6’3 289
Minnesota John Michael Schmitz RS SR 6’4 320
Nebraska Cam Jurgens SO/JR 6’3 290
Northwestern Sam Gerak SR 6’4 295
Wisconsin Kayden Lyles SR 6’3 323
C-USA
Marshall Alex Salguero RS SR 6’4 324
Independent
BYU James Empey JR 6’4 303
Notre Dame Jarrett Patterson JR 6’5 305
MAC
NIU Brayden Patton RS SR 6’5 309
Toledo Bryce Harris SR 6’3 292
MWC
Nevada Tyler Orsini GRAD 6’2 295
Pac-12
Arizona Josh McCauley SR 6’4 294
Arizona State Dohnovan West SO 6’4 282
California Michael Saffell SR 6’2 290
Oregon Alex Forsyth JR 6’4 305
Oregon State Nathan Eldridge RS SR 6’4 282
Washington Luke Wattenberg SR 6’5 300
Washington State Brian Greene RS SR 6’3 300
SEC
Arkansas Ricky Stromberg JR 6’4 311
Auburn Nick Brahms SR 6’4 302
Georgia Warren Ericson JR 6’4 305
LSU Liam Shanahan GRAD 6’5 305
Mizzou Michael Maietti GRAD 6’1 290
Sun Belt
App State Baer Hunter SR 6’2 300
Louisiana Shane Vallot RS JR 6’0 267
Troy Dylan Bradshaw SR 6’3 311
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 $4.8 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 and a list of past recipients, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com
The Rimington Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which 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 the association.
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 $152 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 data supported through studying every player, on every player, of every game.
In 2014, they began to do so for college football, too.
Rimington Trophy Contact:
Michelle Pelini
646.292.7946
mpelini@esiason.org
Recent Comments