Given annually to the nation’s best and most interior of interior offensive lineman, the Rimington Trophy is one of the most prestigious honors a player at the Div. 1-A level can place in his trophy cabinet.
And, as the season is officially set to start in less than four months -- memo to 2011 season: for the love of God, get here soon please -- the Rimington has released its preseason watch list of centers to... ummm... watch.
The Rimington Trophy is named in honor of former Nebraska center Dave Rimington, and has been handed out annually since 2000. Last year’s winner was TCU’s Jake Kirkpatrick.
All told, and remembering that there are 120 starting Div. 1-A centers, a whopping total of 42 players have been named to the Rimington’s initial watch list. For your viewing pleasure, here they are, in all of their nearly four-dozen glory:
Chris Anzevino, Kent State
Eloy Atkinson, UTEP
Mario Benavides, Louisville
Philip Blake, Baylor
Ben Bojicic, Bowling Green
Colin Boss, Middle Tennessee State
Mike Brewster, Ohio State
Terence Brown, BYU
Ben Burkett, Northwestern
Thomas Byrd, Boise State
Mike Caputo, Nebraska
Nick Carlson, Wyoming
Tom Castilaw, Wyoming
Braxton Cave, Notre Dame
Trent Dupy, Tulsa
Dillon Farrell, New Mexico
James Ferentz, Iowa
Dalton Freeman, Clemson
Kevin Galeher, Western Michigan
Grant Garner, Oklahoma State
Garth Gerhart, Arizona State
Jeremiah Hatch, Kansas
A.J. Hawkins, Ole Miss
Cam Holland, North Carolina
Tyler Horn, Miami (Fla.)
Grant Johnson, Oregon State
T.J. Johnson, South Carolina
Ben Jones, Georgia
Peter Konz, Wisconsin
Tyler Larsen, Utah State
P.J. Lonergan, LSU
Joe Madsen, West Virginia
Kai Maiava, UCLA
Blaine McJunkin, SMU
David Molk, Michigan
Brian Moore, Duke
Weston Richburg, Colorado State
Darion Smith, UAB
Matt Smith, Kentucky
Travis Swanson, Arkansas
William Vlachos, Alabama
Scott Wedige, Northern Illinois