Tag: Rimington Trophy

Duck fans react to Jackson Powers-Johnson winning first Rimington Trophy in Pac-12 history

Duck fans had fun after Jackson Powers-Johnson was named the winner of the Rimington Trophy on Friday night.

The Pac-12 Conference stood for 108 years and saw some incredible football be played over that century. One thing that it never saw, though, was a player win the Rimington Trophy for the best center in the nation.

That is until 2023, when Oregon Ducks star Jackson Powers-Johnson was able to become the first player in conference history to take home the honor.

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Powers-Johnson was named the Rimington Trophy winner on Friday night at the annual College Football Awards Show, recognizing him for his elite year spearheading the Ducks’ line that was among the best in the nation. He led all centers in pass-blocking this year, having the highest Pro Football Focus grade after allowing just one pressure and zero sacks on 471 attempts. He was also the third highest-rated center in the nation when it came to run blocking.

JPJ was named to the Pac-12 All-First-Team in 2023, as well as a USA TODAY First-Team All-American, and the first-team center for The Athletic’s All-American team, and CBS Sports’ First-Team All-American team.

As you would expect, Oregon fans celebrated the news on social media. Here were some of the top reactions:

Jackson Powers-Johnson wins Rimington Trophy for nation’s best center

Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson is the first Oregon Duck to win the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation’s best center.

The career season for Oregon Ducks center Jackson Powers-Johnson continued on Friday night, as the leader of the offensive line was named the winning of the Rimington Trophy, which is given to the nation’s best center.

As a junior, Powers-Johnson was the spearhead of Oregon’s offensive line, which was among the best in the nation, nominated for the Joe Moore Award. JPJ had some big shoes to fill, coming into the season and looking to take over for Alex Forsyth, a Campbell Trophy semifinalist and someone named to the Rimington Trophy watch list in 2022.

Powers-Johnson led all centers in pass-blocking this year, having the highest Pro Football Focus grade after allowing just one pressure and zero sacks on 471 attempts. He was also the third highest-rated center in the nation when it came to run blocking.

JPJ was named to the Pac-12 All-First-Team in 2023, as well as a USA TODAY First-Team All-American, and the first-team center for The Athletic’s All-American team, and CBS Sports’ First-Team All-American team.

Powers-Johnson is the first Oregon Duck to win this award.

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Will Putnam named to the Rimington Trophy watch list

Will Putnam named to the Rimington Trophy watch list, presented annually to the nation’s top center.

The Rimington Trophy and the Boomer Esiason Foundation announced today that center Will Putnam has been named to the 2023 watch list for the Rimington Trophy, presented annually to the nation’s top center.

Additional information from award organizers is included below. Visit the 2023 Preseason Honors hub for more preseason accolades garnered by Clemson.

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:

Matthew Lee, Miami (FL)
Maurice Smith, Florida State
Will Putnam, Clemson
Dylan McMahom, NC State
Jacob Monk, Duke
Bryan Hudson, Louisville
Jake Kradel, Pittsburgh
Beaux Limmer, Arkansas
Seth McLaughlin, Alabama
Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia
Cole Smith, Mississippi State
Cooper Mays, Tennessee
Bryce Foster, Texas A&M
Zach Frazier, West Virginia
Clark Barrington, Baylor
Connor Pay, BYU
Rusty Staats, Texas Tech
Jack Freeman, Houston
Mike Novitsky, Kansas
Jake Majors, Texas
John Lanz, TCU
Drake Nugent, Michigan
Nick Samac, Michigan State
Gus Hartwig, Purdue
Logan Jones, Iowa
Ben Scott, Nebraska
Jake Levengood, Oregon State
Justin Dedich, USC
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
Duke Clemens, UCLA
Matteo Mele, Washington
Matthew Cindric, California
Brady Wilson, UAB
Andrew Meyer, UTEP
Branson Hickman, SMU
Jacob Likes, Membphis
Sincere Haynesworth, Tulane
Zeke Correll, Notre Dame
Jacob Gideon, Western Michigan
Isaiah Helms, Appalachian State

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 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.

-Via Clemson Athletic Communications

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Notre Dame players named to preseason award watch lists

Will anyone win this year?

It’s the time of year when we start seeing award watch lists come out in anticipation of the college football season. With Notre Dame expected to be highly ranked once again, there are plenty of players who are ripe for watching. Whether or not any of them actually take home any of this hardware is anyone’s guess right now, but they’re at least on the radar of those who know college football best.

In some cases, more than one Notre Dame player is on the watch list for the same award. Also, as different award watch lists come on different days, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Rest assured, we will be doing just that as these lists continue to come out.

At season’s end, we’ll find out if any of them or maybe somebody different becomes the first national award winner for the Irish since [autotag]Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah[/autotag] won the Butkus Award in 2020:

Alex Forsyth on Rimington Trophy Award watchlist for second year in a row

For the second year in a row, Oregon Ducks center Alex Forsyth is a candidate for the Rimington Trophy award.

There is not a lot of continuity between the 2021 Oregon Ducks and the 2022 version, which features a new head coach, new offensive and defensive coordinators, a new quarterback, mostly new running backs and wide receivers, and multiple new starters in the secondary.

One constant is the man in the middle of the offensive line, center Alex Forsyth, who was once again named to the watchlist for the 2022 Rimington Trophy Award, given annually to the nation’s top center.

Forsyth was on the watchlist last season as he led Oregon’s offensive line unit, although the award was eventually given to Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum.

Forsyth is one of five Pac-12 centers to make the watchlist, alongside Brett Neilon from USC, Drake Nugent from Stanford, Jake Levengood from Oregon State, and Matthew Cindric from Cal.

Oregon has had their ups and downs on the front five in the past few seasons, but Forsyth remains a steady presence on a team filled with uncertainty (and excitement) as the 2022 season approaches.

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Notre Dame has two names on Outland Trophy watch list

Do you have a preference for who would win this?

If Notre Dame’s offense is to have any success this season, much of it will come from the offensive line. While that’s true every year, the Irish especially can call that a strong area this season. That’s because both [autotag]Jarrett Patterson[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Lugg[/autotag] have been named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy. This award recognizes the best interior lineman in college football and can go to a player on either offense or defense.

The honor definitely adds to Patterson’s reputation as he also is on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, given to college football’s best center. He has not allowed a sack in his career yet, and both he and Lugg started every game for the Irish in 2021. Irish quarterbacks would be wise to take advantage of having these two weapons.

The Irish’s history with the Outland Trophy goes back to its beginning in 1946. [autotag]George Connor[/autotag] and [autotag]Bill Fischer[/autotag] won in two of the first three years it was presented. Their only other winner was [autotag]Ross Browner[/autotag] in 1976.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Luke Wypler on 2022 Rimington Trophy preseason watch list

Wypler will look to be the fourth Ohio State player to win the Rimington Trophy. #GoBucks

We continue our journey through the various college football preseason watch lists with looks at Ohio State players noted. The latest to come out is the 2022 preseason Rimington Trophy watch list, handed out annually to the best collegiate center in the game.

If you’ve followed the Rimington in recent years, you no doubt know that Ohio State has had a few guys not only on the shortlist but that have taken home the award. LeCharles Bentley won it in 2001 (in just the second edition), then Pat Elflein and Billy Price went back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.

Now there is another Buckeye to look out for with the inclusion of Luke Wypler on this year’s list that has a total of 40 names.

This year, the Rimington Trophy worked with Pro Football Focus to pare down the list to what you see in the preseason, but that doesn’t mean more players can’t be added later.

The Rimington will be handed out on January 14 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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Florida offensive lineman makes Rimington Trophy watch list

Kingsley Eguakun, Florida’s starting center, is getting some national recognition before the season begins.

Under new head coach Billy Napier, the Florida Gators are hoping to take a step forward on the offensive line. The position group needed some retooling after the damage done by Dan Mullen‘s staff and Napier immediately hit the transfer portal to bolster the group for the upcoming 2022 season. Most of the talk regarding the line has been focused on Louisana transfer [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag], but now center [autotag]Kingsley Eguakun[/autotag], a rising redshirt junior, is receiving some national buzz.

Eguakun was named to the 2022 Rimington Trophy watch list on Friday morning. After starting all 13 games for Florida in 2021, Eguakun is expected to take some big steps forward in his second campaign as UF’s snapper. The watch list is comprised of 40 players, which the committee picked using data from Pro Football Focus and nominations from the schools.

Florida’s line was solid last year, as the Gators finished among the top 16 in offense nationally, averaging 208.7 yards per game on the ground and 5.5 yards per carry.

With Napier at the helm, and a running back room brimming with potential, Florida should lean on the run plenty in 2022. If Florida can put together another strong year offensively, Eguakun should be at least in the conversation for the award.

The only Gator to ever take home the Rimington Trophy was Maurkice Pouncey in 2009, though, so it won’t be an easy contest to win.

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Arkansas’ Ricky Stromberg may be the nation’s best center

Arkansas center Ricky Stromberg looks to follow in the footsteps of Jonathan Luigs as a Rimington Trophy winner for the Hogs.

The last 20 years have been Arkansas football’s best when it comes to the middle of the offensive line.

Ricky Stromberg may be the best of the bunch.

The Razorbacks center was named to the Rimington Trophy watch list Friday after helping Arkansas to the sixth-best rushing attack in the country last year. A day later, he was named preseason first-team All-SEC, confirming that designation.

Stromberg started all 13 games for the 9-4 Razorbacks last year and was penalized just eight times while allowing only three sacks. The Arkansas running game was the best out of all power-conference teams, rushing for an average of 228 yards per game.

Arkansas has had one winner of the Rimington Trophy previously. Jonathan Luigs captured it in 2007. Travis Swanson was also named a finalist for it in 2013.

Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, Jarrett Patterson make award watch lists

Which of these two is more likely to win their respective award?

The preseason award watch lists continue to come out, and Notre Dame continues to be represented. The two latest examples of that come from the watch lists for the Mackey Award and the Rimington Trophy. Among the entrants on those lists are [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] and [autotag]Jarrett Patterson[/autotag], respectively.

The Mackey Award is given to the best tight end in college football. [autotag]Tyler Eifert[/autotag] won it in 2012. Mayer probably has a better chance at nabbing this one than the Maxwell Award, which he also is on the watch list for. Seven of the past nine Maxwell Award winners have been quarterbacks, so that says it all.

The Rimington Trophy is awarded to college football’s best center. Patterson would be the first Irish player to take it home. He’ll hope for better luck in 2022 as this is the second straight year he has been named to the watch list. If the Irish have a good season, he’ll have to be in the conversation.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89