Luigs on 2008 Rimington Trophy Watch List
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs has been named to the watch list for the 2008 Rimington Trophy, an award presented annually to the nation’s top center. Luigs won the 2007 Rimington Trophy and is attempting to become the first player in the award’s history to earn the honor multiple times.
Luigs is one of 42 pre-season candidates for the award, including one of five candidates from the Southeastern Conference. Luigs was a first-team All-American in 2007 and became the first Razorback to win the nation’s top honor for centers. The Little Rock native is only the fourth Razorback to win a national individual award joining two-time Doak Walker Award winner Darren McFadden (2006, 2007) and Outland Trophy winners Bud Brooks (1954) and Loyd Phillips (1966). Last season, Luigs blocked for a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Doak Walker Award winner Darren McFadden and Doak Walker semifinalist Felix Jones. McFadden was also named as the Walter Camp Player of the Year and as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Luigs helped McFadden and Jones become only the second duo in NCAA history to earn 1,000 yards rushing as teammates in consecutive seasons.
Luigs has started every game of his UA career (37 games) including 27-consecutive starts at center. He has missed only one game in three years (2005 Alabama) due to injury. He has paved the way for 37 100-yard rushing efforts in his 37 career games, including 17 100-yard performances in 13 games in 2007.
While more than a dozen All-America football teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these four prestigious teams to determine a winner:
American Football Coaches Association
Walter Camp Foundation
The 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. The Rimington Trophy 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 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 the 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 Rimington Trophy Presentation banquet at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on Jan. 17, 2009.
The nine-year old trophy is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Past recipients include Nebraska’s Dominic Raiola, Ohio State’s LeCharles Bentley, Miami’s Brett Romberg, Virginia Tech’s Jake Grove, co-winners Michigan’s David Baas and LSU’s Ben Wilkerson, Minnesota’s Greg Eslinger, West Virginia’s Dan Mozes and Luigs. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised over $1.3 million for the award’s benefactor, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation that to date has raised over $65 million for CF research.
Rimington, the award’s namesake, was a consensus first team All-America center at 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.
The Rimington Trophy is a fully accredited member of the National College Football Awards Association.
2008 Rimington Trophy Watch List
Name, School, Ht., Wt., Class
Antoine Caldwell, Alabama, 6-3, 292, Sr.
Blake Kerley, Arizona, 6-2, 285, Jr.
Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas, 6-4, 314, Sr.
Jason Bosley, Auburn, 6-2, 281, Sr.J.D. Walton, Baylor, 6-3, 302, Jr.Alex Mack, California, 6-5, 316, Sr.Colin Miller, Central Michigan, 6-3, 280, So.Daniel Sanders, Colorado, 6-3, 325, Sr.Keith Gray, Connecticut, 6-2, 287, Sr.Brad Serini, Florida International, 6-4, 275, So.
Ryan McMahon, Florida State, 6-3, 275, So.
John Estes, Hawaii, 6-2, 290, Jr.
Carl Barnett, Houston, 6-3, 285, Jr.Adam Korby, Idaho, 6-2, 292, Jr.Alex Perry, Indiana, 6-7, 292, So.Ryan Cantrell, Kansas, 6-3, 295, Sr.Jordan Bedore, Kansas State, 6-3, 308, Sr.Chris Fisher, Louisiana-Lafayette, 6-2, 280, So.
Eric Wood, Louisville, 6-4, 309, Sr.Brett Helms, LSU, 6-2, 283, Sr.Edwin Williams, Maryland, 6-2, 315, Sr.Philip Beliles, Memphis, 6-5, 270, Sr.Dominic Green, Nevada, 6-3, 295, Sr.Jim Cordle, Ohio State, 6-4, 297, Jr.Jon Cooper, Oklahoma, 6-2, 289, Sr.Andrew Lewis, Oklahoma State, 6-5, 290, Jr.A.Q. Shipley, Penn State, 6-1, 293, Jr.Ryan Blaszcyk, Rutgers, 6-4, 285, Sr.
Mitch Enright, SMU, 6-2, 275, Jr.Jake Griffin, South Florida, 6-4, 307, Sr.Alex Fletcher, Stanford, 6-3, 295, Sr.Blake Schlueter, TCU, 6-3, 272, Sr.Alex Derenthal, Temple, 6-4, 294, Sr.Josh McNeil, Tennessee, 6-4, 280, Jr.Chris Hall, Texas, 6-4, 300, Jr.Danny Franks, Troy, 6-3, 308, Jr.Kristopher O’Dowd, USC, 6-5, 300, So.Ryan Tonnemacher, Utah State, 6-3, 292, Sr.Robby Felix, UTEP, 6-3, 295, Sr.Juan Garcia, Washington, 6-3, 315, Sr. Kenny Alfred, Washington State, 6-2, 310, Jr. Mike Dent, West Virginia, 6-3, 300, Sr.
