Rimington Trophy Midseason Watchlist Additions
The Rimington Trophy is excited to announce its midseason watchlist additions. In order to make the decision, the trophy team considered nominations from schools based on in-season merit.
The following centers have been added to the watchlist:
Gage Schmidt – North Dakota State
Trent Fraley – Michigan State
Stewart Taufa – Boise State
Ryan Rodriguez – Miami (FL)
Taran Tyo – Cincinnati
Drake Metcalf – Virginia
Greg Johnson – Minnesota
Racin Delgatty – Alabama
Full Watchlist
please visit: https://rimingtontrophy.com/the-watchlist/
Conference / Player / School / Class (2026)
ACC
Joshua Bates SMU R-JR
Matt Craycraft Duke GRAD
Ryan Carretta Pittsburgh R-JR
Ryan Rodriguez Miami (FL) 6th Yr.
Drake Metcalf Virginia 7th Yr.
American (AAC)
Adam Lepkowski UAB GRAD
Brady Small Army SR
Cam Nichols Navy SR
Vincent Fiacable FAU GRAD
Big 12
Anthony Boswell Houston JR
Bruce Mitchell BYU R-SR
Landen Livingston West Virginia R-SR
Sheridan Wilson Texas Tech SR
Taran Tyo Cincinnati 5th Yr.
Big Ten
Ashton Beers Minnesota Fifth Year
Bray Lynch Indiana R-SR
Brock Riker Penn State R-SO
Carson Hinzman Ohio State R-SR
Iapani Laloulu Oregon SR
Jackson Carsello Northwestern GRAD
Jake Guarnera Michigan JR
Jake Renfro Illinois RS-SR
Justin Evans Nebraska SR
Kade Pieper Iowa R-JR
Killian O’Connor USC R-SR
Landen Hatchett Washington SR
Michael Hershey Maryland JR
Greg Johnson Minnesota SR
Trent Fraley Michigan State R-SR
Conference USA
Aaron Fenimore Liberty R-JR
Steven Demboski Delaware Fifth Year
Independent
Ashton Craig Notre Dame SR
MAC
Nicholas Gallegos Eastern Michigan GRAD
Mountain West
Gage Schmidt North Dakota State 3rd Year
Pac-12
Jimmy Liston Utah State JR
Stewart Taufa Boise State Soph
SEC
Braelin Moore LSU Fifth Year
Canon Boone Mississippi State GRAD
Cole Best Auburn SR
Coleton Price Kentucky SR
Connor Robertson Texas Fifth Year
Dominick Giudice Missouri Fifth Year
Drew Bobo Georgia R-SR
Harrison Moore Florida JR
Jake Maikkula Oklahoma R-SR
Lyndon Cooper Vanderbilt GRAD
Mark Nabou Jr. Texas A&M GRAD
Racin Delgatty Alabama SR
Selection Process
While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses 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 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.
Frank Coyle is a long-time scout with nationwide ties with NFL and college coaches, scouts and player agents. He is a member of the FWAA and voter in College player awards – Heisman, Outland, Nagurski, Lombardi, Thorpe, Biletnikoff etc for the past 34 years. He writes College Football Mondays weekly during the season. He was a longtime scouting consultant for the Senior Bowl, the nation’s premier postseason All-star game. He does sports radio shows for CBS, ESPN, Fox Sports and Sporting News on a year-round basis related to NFL and College Football especially during the postseason team and All-star Bowl time. He has worked for CBS Sports, USA Today, NBC Sports, Yahoo and Rivals sports publications and web sites.
