.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Hawkins Named Candidate For Rimington Trophy
5/22/2011 | Football
May 22, 2011
Rimington Trophy Spring Watch List
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss' A.J. Hawkins has been named to the 2011 Spring Watch List for the Rimington Trophy, which honors college football's top center.
A junior from Lithonia, Ga., Hawkins started 11 games at center last year and helped Ole Miss lead the SEC in fewest sacks allowed and rank third in rushing offense. Behind Hawkins' line, the Rebels notched eight individual 100-yard rushing performances by four different runners.
Hawkins is among six SEC players on the Rimington Trophy Watch List, which ties the Big Ten for the most candidates by a conference. In all, there are 42 players on the list, including 14 returning players from the 2010 Watch List.
The winner will be honored at Rimington Trophy Presentation banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Neb., on January 14, 2012.
A member of the National College Football Awards Association, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these four prestigious teams to determine a winner: American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, Sporting News and 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 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 most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by the Rimington Trophy committee.
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 $86 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.
About the NCFAA
The Rimington Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association's official website, www.ncfaa.org.
