Six MAC Students Named To 2018 Rimington Trophy Watch List
Six MAC Students Named To 2018 Rimington Trophy Watch List
The Rimington Trophy Committee announces its 2018 Fall Watch List, which includes the following centers in Division I football. In order to create this list, the committee accepted nominations from programs across the country that submitted their current starting centers for consideration. This preseason, centers were nominated from every conference, with 58 total nominees and 27 past watch listers.
Representing the MAC are junior Andrew Poenitsch (Ball State); senior James O'Hagan (Buffalo); senior Dakota Tallman (Eastern Michigan); sophomore Danny Godlevske (Miami); senior Luke Shively (Northern Illinois) and senior John Keenoy (Western Michigan).
Poenitsch, a native of Waukesha, Wis., started eight games at center last season for Ball State.
O'Hagan, a native of Seaford, N.Y., is a two-time third-team All-MAC pick and has been the anchor of the Bulls offensive line, starting every game over his three-year career. Buffalo ran 400 pass plays in 2017 and only allowed 17 sacks. In addition, the Bulls are coming off a season in which it ranked second in the MAC in total offense, averaging 432 yards per game.
Tallman, a native of LaGrange, Ohio, has earned the honor for the second consecutive year and started in all 12 games last season. He was part of an overhauled offensive line that ranked second in the MAC and 28th nationally in the fewest sacks given up in 2017. Eastern Michigan's offense ranked third in the MAC in passing offense at 257.3 yards per game through the air. The line also gelled down the stretch for the rushing attack, as the Eagles racked up 815 yards on the ground and four 100-yard rushers during the final four games.
Godlevske, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., is a two-time watch list member to the Rimington Trophy. Last season he earned the honor but missed the final 11 games of the season with a foot injury.
Shively, a native of Tipton, Ind., has started every game for the Huskies in each of the last two seasons. He helped lead a Huskie offensive unit that averaged 177.3 yards rushing in 2017. Over the last two seasons, Shively has snapped the ball to five different starting quarterbacks, including four in 2016, his first year as starting center. NIU led the league and ranked 16th in the nation in rushing offense, averaging 239.8 yards a game and ranked second in the nation in sacks allowed that season as well.
Keenoy is entering his fourth season as a starter at Western Michigan and has started every game played (37 of 38 possible contests). He has been an All-MAC selection the last two seasons, earning First Team honors in 2017 and Second Team accolades in 2016. He was on the First Team All-MAC list headed into this season by Athlon Sports. Keenoy has been a key component on an offensive line that has led the way for one of the most prolific running games in the country, as the Broncos have been ranked in the top 25 in the nation in regards to rushing offense for the past two seasons. Keenoy also held center for the 2016 team that won a MAC Championship, made a Goodyear Cotton Bowl appearance and finished the season ranked No. 15 in the nation.
The Rimington Trophy committee used these three prestigious teams to determine a winner: the Walter Camp Foundation (WCF); Sporting News (SN) and the 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 12, 2019.
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 $3.6 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
The Rimington Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football.
