May 26, 2012
University of South Carolina senior center T.J. Johnson is one of 50 players on the Rimington Trophy 2012 Spring Watch List, announced this week by the Rimington Trophy committee.
The list includes 21 returning players from the 2011 Watch List. The SEC leads the way with nine players, while the ACC, Big Ten, and PAC-12 check in with five candidates each. In addition, there are two graduate students and seven sophomores on the Watch List.
Johnson, a 6-6, 319-pounder from Aynor, S.C., has started all 40 games over the past three seasons for the Gamecocks. He was a third-team All-SEC selection in 2011 according to Phil Steele.
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
* 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 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 still a tie, the winner will be determined by the Rimington Trophy committee.
The winner will be honored at Rimington Trophy Presentation banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska on January 12, 2013.
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 million. The twelve-year old award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and has raised over $100 million for CF Research.
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
