The Rimington Trophy Committee has released its 2017 Fall Watch List, which includes the following centers in Division I football. In order to create this list, the committee accepted nominations from programs across the country that submitted their current starting centers for consideration. This preseason, at least one player from each conference was nominated, with the MAC leading at ten student-athletes selected and the Big 12 and SEC following with eight each respectively.
The following is a list of those named to the 2017 Fall Watch List:
| Conference | School | First Name | Last Name | Class Year | Height | Weight |
| Am. Athl. | ||||||
| East Carolina | Garrett | McGhin | JR | 6’6 | 327 | |
| Houston | Will | Noble | JR | 6’4 | 290 | |
| Memphis | Drew | Kyser | JR | 6’5 | 300 | |
| SMU | Evan | Brown | SR | 6’3 | 308 | |
| USF | Cameron | Ruff | SR | 6’3 | 320 | |
| Temple | Matt | Hennessy | RS FR | 6’4 | 285 | |
| Tulsa | Chandler | Miller | JR | 6’3 | 293 | |
| ACC | ||||||
| Boston College | Jon | Baker | SR | 6’3 | 300 | |
| Duke | Austin | Davis | RS SR | 6’4 | 290 | |
| Florida State | Alec | Eberle | RS JR | 6’4 | 294 | |
| North Carolina | Cam | Dillard | Grad | 6’4 | 310 | |
| Wake Forest | Ryan | Anderson | RS JR | 6’6 | 300 | |
| Big Ten | ||||||
| Illinois | Nick | Allegretti | JR | 6’4 | 315 | |
| Iowa | James | Daniels | JR | 6’4 | 295 | |
| Maryland | Brendan | Moore | JR | 6’3 | 300 | |
| Michigan State | Brian | Allen | SR | 6’2 | 305 | |
| Minnesota | Jared | Weyler | RS JR | 6’4 | 305 | |
| Northwestern | Brad | North | RS SR | 6’2 | 290 | |
| Ohio State | Billy | Price | SR | 6’4 | 312 | |
| Wisconsin | Michael | Deiter | JR | 6’6 | 329 | |
| Big 12 | ||||||
| Iowa State | Julian | Good-Jones | SO | 6’5 | 295 | |
| Kansas | Mesa | Ribordy | SO | 6’4 | 305 | |
| Kansas State | Reid | Najvar | SR | 6’4 | 295 | |
| Oklahoma | Erick | Wren | RS SR | 6’1 | 320 | |
| Oklahoma State | Brad | Lundblade | SR | 6’3 | 300 | |
| TCU | Austin | Schlottmann | SR | 6’6 | 300 | |
| Texas | Zach | Shackelford | SO | 6’4 | 305 | |
| C-USA | ||||||
| Florida Atlantic | Antonyo | Woods | RS SR | 6’3 | 295 | |
| Marshall | Levi | Brown | RS SO | 6’4 | 296 | |
| Old Dominion | Nick | Clarke | JR | 6’4 | 285 | |
| Rice | Trey | Martin | SR | 6’2 | 300 | |
| WKU | Dennis | Edwards | RS JR | 6’1 | 305 | |
| INDP. | ||||||
| Army West Point | Bryce | Holland | SR | 6’2 | 285 | |
| BYU | Tejan | Koroma | SR | 6’0 | 290 | |
| Notre Dame | Sam | Mustipher | SR | 6’2.5 | 305 | |
| MAC | ||||||
| Akron | LaVonne | Gauthney | SR | 6’1 | 290 | |
| Bowling Green | Tim | McAuliffe | RS SR | 6’1 | 282 | |
| Buffalo | James | O’Hagan | JR | 6’3 | 310 | |
| Central Michigan | Austin | Doan | SR | 6’4 | 300 | |
| Eastern Michigan | Dakota | Tallman | RS JR | 6’5 | 307 | |
| Kent State | Nathan | Puthoff | SR | 6’4 | 309 | |
| Miami (OH) | Danny | Godlevske | SO | 6’2 | 298 | |
| NIU | Luke | Shively | RS JR | 6’2 | 286 | |
| Ohio U | Jake | Pruehs | SR | 6’2 | 300 | |
| Western Michigan | John | Keenoy | JR | 6’3 | 300 | |
| Mtn. West | ||||||
| Boise State | Mason | Hampton | RS SR | 6’3 | 303 | |
| Colorado State | Jake | Bennett | SR | 6’3 | 290 | |
| Fresno State | Aaron | Mitchell | SR | 6’2 | 307 | |
| Hawaii | Asotui | Eli | JR | 6’4 | 315 | |
| Nevada | Sean | Krepsz | JR | 6’6 | 320 | |
| New Mexico | Blaise | Fountain | SR | 6’0 | 280 | |
| San Jose State | Keoni | Taylor | SR | 6’3 | 303 | |
| Pac-12 | ||||||
| Arizona | Nathan | Eldridge | RS SO | 6’3 | 290 | |
| California | Addison | Ooms | JR | 6’4 | 310 | |
| Oregon | Jake | Hanson | RS SO | 6’5 | 307 | |
| Oregon State | Sumner | Houston | JR | 6’2 | 289 | |
| Stanford | Jesse | Burkett | JR | 6’4 | 307 | |
| UCLA | Scott | Quessenberry | SR | 6’3 | 315 | |
| Washington | Coleman | Shelton | SR | 6’4 | 297 | |
| SEC | ||||||
| Alabama | Bradley | Bozeman | RS SR | 6’5 | 314 | |
| Arkansas | Frank | Ragnow | SR | 6’5 | 316 | |
| Auburn | Austin | Golson | SR | 6’5 | 312 | |
| Florida | T.J. | McCoy | RS SO | 6’1 | 308 | |
| LSU | Will | Clapp | JR | 6’5 | 309 | |
| Ole Miss | Sean | Rawlings | JR | 6’5 | 294 | |
| South Carolina | Alan | Knott | SR | 6’4 | 290 | |
| Texas A&M | Colton | Prater | SO | 6’4 | 300 | |
| Sun Belt | ||||||
| Georgia State | Gabe | Mobley | RS JR | 6’2 | 280 | |
| Texas State | Aaron | Brewer | SO | 6’3 | 285 | |
| Troy | Deontae | Crumitie | JR | 6’2 | 283 |
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. The winner will be recognized at the Rimington Trophy Presentation at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday, January 13, 2018.
About the Rimington Trophy
The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA Division I-A College Football. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised over $2.9 million for the cystic fibrosis community. The award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and has raised over $130 million for the fight against cystic fibrosis.
Dave Rimington, the award’s namesake, was a consensus first-team All-American center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the Outland Trophy’s only double 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
About the NCFAA
The Rimington Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 23 awards boast 765 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.