Stanley Named to Rimington Award Preseason Watch List

July 20, 2018

University of South Carolina redshirt junior Donell Stanley has been named to the 2018 Rimington Award preseason watch list, as announced Friday by the Rimington Trophy Committee. The award is presented annually to the top center in college football.

Stanley, a 6-3, 315-pounder enters the 2018 season expected to anchor the center position for the Gamecocks after starting at guard in 2017. The Floydale, S.C., native earned nine starts at left guard last season and three at right guard. For his career, Stanley has appeared in 25 games over the course of four years with the Gamecock program, including 13 starting as-signments.

The Rimington Award Spring Watch List honors 58 NCAA Division I FBS centers. Stanley is one of seven honorees from the Southeastern Conference.

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 offen-sive 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 12, 2019.

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 Tro-phy’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