May 19, 2006

DALLAS, Tex. - The Dave Rimington Trophy today released their spring watch list of top collegiate centers for the 2006 season. This season marks the seventh year of the Rimington Trophy recognizing the most outstanding center in college football and the first as a Regular Member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA).

The spring watch list consists of thirty-nine of college football's top men in the middle and will be updated once prior to the beginning of the season. Five Sophomores, eleven Juniors and twenty-three Seniors make up the very strong field.

"With only one returning finalist (Dan Mozes, West Virginia) from last season the competition will be wide open which will certainly make for an exciting race. Center is a very difficult position to evaluate and of course play so I wish all of the candidates and their respective teams a successful season", said Dave Rimington

2005 Rimington Trophy winner Greg Eslinger, Minnesota was a sixth round draft pick of the Denver Broncos and is expected to be a big contributor on the Broncos offensive line. In addition 2005 marked the inaugural presentation of the President Gerald R. Ford Legends of Center Award, accepted on behalf of President Ford by John Cappelletti (1973 Heisman Trophy Winner, Penn State University) at the annual Rimington Trophy banquet.

The seven year old trophy is presented by Canon, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, USA and Black & Decker. The award is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Minnesota's Greg Eslinger, Michigan's David Baas (2004 co-winner), LSU's Ben Wilkerson (2004 co-winner), Virginia Tech's Jake Grove, Miami's Brett Romberg, Ohio State's LeCharles Bentley, and Nebraska's Dominic Raiola are past recipients. Esiason created his foundation in 1993 to support research and treatment of cystic fibrosis. Esiason and Dave Rimington were teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals from 1984-87. Rimington the award's namesake, was a consensus first team All- America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982 during which he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's premiere college interior lineman.

The winner is selected by determining the consensus All-American center pick from four existing All America Teams including:

American Football Coaches Association Walter Camp Foundation Sporting News Football Writers Association of America Because the selectors of these four 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. Our policy is to count all players that play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, even though they maybe listed as guards or tackles on the four All American 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 most second team votes will win. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by the Rimington Trophy committee.

The winner will be honored at the awards banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska, in January of 2007.

2006 Spring Rimington Trophy Watch List

Pete Bier Army Senior 6'4" 282 lbs

Mark Bihl Michigan Senior 6'5" 297 lbs

Antoine Caldwell Alabama Sophomore 6'4" 294 lbs

Aaron Danenhauer Tulsa Senior 6'5" 302 lbs

Robby D'Angelo Southern Mississippi Junior 6'1" 277 lbs

Kyle DeVan Oregon State Junior 6'2" 293 lbs

Sterling Doty Houston Senior 6'2" 285 lbs

Robby Felix UTEP Sophomore 6'3" 270 lbs

Mark Fenton Colorado Junior 6'4" 290 lbs

Dustin Fry Clemson Senior 6'3" 315 lbs

Cedric Gagne-Marcoux Central Florida Senior 6'2" 280 lbs

Leroy Harris North Carolina State Senior 6'3" 295 lbs

Tanner Jenkins Arkansas State Senior 6'1" 292 lbs

Brandon Jones Texas Tech Senior 6'3" 305 lbs

Nick Jones Georgia Senior 6'3" 295 lbs

Ryan Kalil Southern California Senior 6'4" 290 lbs

Jason Karcher Wyoming Senior 6'3" 291 lbs

Adam Korby Idaho Sophomore 6'2" 292 lbs

Robbie Krutilla Western Michigan Junior 6'3" 308 lbs

Doug Legursky Marshall Junior 6'3" 308 lbs

Kory Lichtensteiger Bowling Green Junior 6'3" 305 lbs

Enoka Lucas Oregon Senior 6'4" 299 lbs

Jonathan Luigs Arkansas Sophomore 6'4" 305 lbs

Kurt Mann Nebraska Senior 6'4" 280 lbs

Dan Mozes West Virginia Senior 6'4" 290 lbs

Dave Ochoa Kansas Senior 6'4" 295 lbs

James Rossi Navy Junior 6'1" 269 lbs

Samson Satele Hawaii Senior 6'3" 311 lbs

Lyle Sendlein Texas Junior 6'5" 305 lbs

Stephen Schuh Memphis Senior 6'1" 288 lbs

Adam Spieker Missouri Junior 6'3" 310 lbs

Darnell Stapleton Rutgers Senior 6'3" 305 lbs

Scott Stephenson Iowa State Senior 6'4" 305 lbs

John Sullivan Notre Dame Senior 6'4" 280 lbs

Cody Wallace Texas A&M Junior 6'4" 296 lbs

Chris White South Carolina Senior 6'3" 316 lbs

Anthony Wollschlager Miami Senior 6'4" 281 lbs

Eric Wood Louisville Sophomore 6'4" 290 lbs

Kyle Young Fresno State Junior 6'5" 335 lbs