05/17/2016 11:28 AM -

PRESS RELEASE --- Tuesday, May 17, 2016

The Rimington Trophy Committee has released its 2016 Spring Watch List, which includes the following top 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.

The following is a list of those named to the 2016 Spring Watch List:

Conference School First Name Last Name Class Year Height Weight Am. Athl. Cincinnati Deyshawn Bond SR 6'1 295 Connecticut Ryan Crozier RS SO 6'4 296 Houston Will Noble SO 6'4 290 Memphis Drew Kyser SO 6'5 300 SMU Evan Brown JR 6'3 306 Temple Brendan McGowan Grad 6'3 298 Tulsa Chandler Miller SO 6'3 290 ACC Clemson Jay Guillermo SR 6'3 325 Florida State Alec Eberle RS SO 6'4 287 Georgia Tech Freddie Burden RS SR 6'4 299 Miami Nicholas Linder JR 6'3 300 North Carolina Lucas Crowley SR 6'3 290 Pittsburgh Alex Officer RS JR 6'4 335 Syracuse Jason Emerich RS SR 6'3 284 Virginia Jackson Matteo SR 6'5 290 Big Ten Illinois Joe Spencer SR 6'4 300 Iowa Sean Welsh JR 6'3 288 Maryland Brendan Moore SO 6'3 295 Michigan Mason Cole JR 6'5 305 Nebraska Dylan Utter SR 6'1 295 Wisconsin Michael Deiter SO 6'6 316 Big 12 Baylor Kyle Fuller SR 6'5 310 Kansas State Dalton Risner SO 6'5 300 Oklahoma Jonathan Alvarez Junior 6'3 315 Oklahoma State Brad Lundblade JR 6'3 300 TCU Austin Schlottman JR 6'6 300 Texas Tech Tony Morales SR 6'3 285 West Virginia Tyler Orlosky RS SR 6'4 295 C-USA FIU Michael Montero SR 6'2 299 Florida Atlantic Dillon DeBoer Grad 6'6 295 Middle Tennessee Daniel Stephens SR 6'2 306 Old Dominion Nick Clarke SO 6'4 301 Southern Miss Cameron Tom SR 6'4 287 WKU Max Halpin RS SR 6'3 295 MAC Bowling Green Tim McAuliffe RS JR 6'0 272 Buffalo James O'Hagan SO 6'2 308 Mtn. West Colorado State Jake Bennett JR 6'3 295 Hawaii Asotui Eli RS SO 6'4 295 Nevada Nathan Goltry SR 6'2 300 San Diego State Arthur Flores SR 6'5 305 Utah State Austin Stephens SR 6'3 305 Pac-12 USC Toa Lobendahn JR 6'3 295 Washington Coleman Shelton JR 6'4 292 Washington State Riley Sorenson SR 6'4 327 SEC Arkansas Frank Ragnow JR 6'5 314 Georgia Brandon Kublanow SR 6'3 282 Kentucky Jon Toth SR 6'5 310 LSU Ethan Pocic SR 6'7 309 Mississippi State Jamaal Clayborn SR 6'4 315 Ole Miss Robert Conyers SR 6'5 290 South Carolina Alan Knott RS JR 6'4 280 Tennessee Coleman Thomas JR 6'5 301 Sun Belt Arkansas State Devin Mondie SR 6'5 304 Georgia Southern Andy Kwon SR 6'2 300 Georgia State Gabe Mobley SO 6'2 285 Idaho Steve Matlock SR 6'2 270 Indpt. Notre Dame Sam Mustipher JR 6'2 305

While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee used 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 14, 2017.

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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 $2.6 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 $120 million for the fight against cystic fibrosis.

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 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. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about its story.