NEW YORK – In the year it celebrates its 20th anniversary, the Rimington Trophy Committee announced its watch list of 80 Division I centers for the 2019 fall season, and UCF’s Jordan Johnson is among the honorees.
To build this list, the committee accepted nominations from all eligible programs across the country for consideration. This preseason and for the second year, centers were nominated from every conference.
Johnson has been the Knights’ starting center in each of the last two seasons, making the move from guard to center after his freshman campaign. He has led the offense to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and a pair of American Athletic Conference Championships.
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 18, 2020.
Nominations from The American
| Cincinnati | Jakari Robinson | Sophomore | 6-0 | 295 |
| Memphis | Dustin Woodward | Senior | 6-2 | 285 |
| Navy | Ford Higgins | Senior | 6-2 | 260 |
| SMU | Hayden Howerton | Junior | 6-3 | 290 |
| Temple | Matt Hennessy | Senior | 6-4 | 295 |
| Tulane | Christian Montano | Senior | 6-4 | 300 |
| UCF | Jordan Johnson | Senior | 6-2 | 320 |
About the Rimington Trophy
The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the most outstanding center in NCAA Division I College Football. Since its inception, the seventeen-year old award has raised over $4.2 million for the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for 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 two-time 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
2019 National Watch Lists
- Maxwell Award: Adrian Killins Jr.
- Bednarik Award: Richie Grant
- AFCA Good Works Team: Jordan Johnson
- Doak Walker Award: Greg McCrae
- Biletnikoff Award: Gabriel Davis
- Rimington Trophy: Jordan Johnson