Staats named to Rimington Trophy watch list
NEW YORK – Texas Tech senior offensive lineman Rusty Staats was named to the 2023 Rimington Trophy preseason watch list, the organization announced on Friday. The annual award is presented to the nation’s premier center by the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
This year, the Trophy committee worked with Pro Football Focus (PFF) to narrow down its list to the top 40 centers. PFF grades every player on every play of every game on how well they execute their given assignment. That play-by-play grading allowed the Trophy committee to create a watch list based both on nominations from the schools and data provided by PFF.
Staats transferred to Texas Tech from Western Kentucky following the 2022 season after starting in all 14 games for the Hilltoppers. According to PFF, Staats allowed only one sack over 651 opportunities. He was tabbed an honorable mention All-Conference USA after the season – his second such honor of his WKU career. Staats appeared in 45 games with 27 starts over his career.
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 award has raised over $5 million for the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
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, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com.
NCFAA Watch List Week Wrap-Up
Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. The following is the complete 2023 preseason watch list calendar:
Mon., July 31: Maxwell Award
Shough named to watch list for Maxwell Award
Tue., Aug. 1: Outland Trophy/Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Hutchings tabbed to Nagurski, Outland watch lists
Wed., Aug. 2: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
McNamara named to Ray Guy Award watch list
Thu., Aug. 3: Paul Hornung Award/Wuerffel Trophy
Bradford named to Wuerffel Trophy watch list
Fri., Aug. 4: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Staats named to Rimington Trophy watch list
The second week of the NCFAA watch list season continues on Monday with the Biletnikoff Award, which honors the nation’s most outstanding college receiver.
Mon., Aug. 7: Biletnikoff Award
Tue., Aug. 8: Davey O’Brien Award
Wed., Aug. 9: Doak Walker Award
Thu., Aug. 10: Butkus Award/Paycom Jim Thorpe Award
Fri., Aug. 11: Walter Camp Award
Mon., Aug. 14: Bednarik Award
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Release provided by MATT BURKHOLDER Texas Tech Athletics
