Linthicum Named to Rimington Trophy Watch List

Award organizers for the Rimington Trophy announced today that center Ryan Linthicum has been named as one of 40 members on the 2025 watch list for the Rimington Trophy, presented annually to the nation’s top center. Additional information from the award’s presenting organization is included below.

Visit the 2025 Preseason Honors hub for more preseason accolades garnered by Clemson.

New York, NY — Friday, August 8th, 2025 — The Rimington Trophy is proud to release its 2025 preseason Watchlist. 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 watchlist based both on nominations from the schools and data provided by PFF. Once the season begins, schools will be able to nominate their centers for late addition based on in-season merit.

The 2025 Rimington Trophy Watchlist, sorted alphabetically by school, is as follows:

Costen Cooley, Air Force
Parker Brailsford, Alabama
Ben Coleman, Arizona State
Caden Kitler, Arkansas
Brady Small, Army
Connor Lew, Auburn
Coleton Price, Baylor
Gavin Gerhardt, Cincinnati
Ryan Linthicum, Clemson
Matt Craycraft, Duke
Jake Slaughter, Florida
Luke Petitbon, Florida St.
Jacob Spomer, Fresno State
Drew Bobo, Georgia
Demetrius Hunter, Houston
Pat Coogan, Indiana
Logan Jones, Iowa
Dylan Barrett, Iowa State
Bryce Foster, Kansas
Sam Hecht, Kansas State
Aaron Fenimore, Liberty
Pete Nygra, Louisville
James Brockermeyer, Miami FL
Matt Gulbin, Michigan St.
Connor Tollison, Missouri
Austin Blaske, North Carolina
Ashton Craig, Notre Dame
Carson Hinzman, Ohio State
Iapani Laloulu, Oregon
Lyndon Cooper, Pittsburgh
Gus Zilinskas, Rutgers
Addison Nichols, SMU
Sheridan Wilson, Texas Tech
Jack Hollifield, Tulane
Wes Hoeh, UConn
Jaren Kump, Utah
Jordan White, Vanderbilt
Brady Wilson, Virginia
Brock Dieu, Washington State
Jake Renfro, Wisconsin

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. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy Committee, provided with data from Pro Football Focus.

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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

About the Boomer Esiason Foundation

In 1993, Boomer Esiason’s son, Gunnar, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF). Boomer and his wife Cheryl founded the Boomer Esiason Foundation to raise funds and awareness for the cystic fibrosis community. To date, the Foundation has raised over $175 million and works to provide educational and financial resources to help people living with CF in the here and now.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs, digestive system, and reproductive system of about 40,000 Americans by causing a thick build-up of mucus that leads to blockage, inflammation, and infection.

About Pro Football Focus

Since 2006, PFF has built the world’s most comprehensive sports data and analytics database, relied on by top industry professionals and fans alike to power winning decisions. PFF analyzes every player and every play of every game to calculate player grades, in-depth performance stats, and rankings for the NFL, fantasy football, and NFL Draft. All 32 NFL teams use PFF data and tools, as do all 136 FBS teams, 90 FCS teams, professional leagues like CFL and UFL, media networks, player agencies, video game companies, and more. PFF is transforming sports strategy and decision-making across fantasy football and betting, in the front office and on the field. In 2025, PFF’s college analysts supported the Rimington Trophy in creating the Watchlist.

About the NCFAA

The Rimington Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.

NCFAA Watch List Calendar

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. Following is the 2025 preseason watch list calendar:

Mon., July 28: Maxwell Award
Tue., July 29: Outland Trophy/Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Wed., July 30: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award/Butkus Award
Thu., July 31: Paul Hornung Award/Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
Fri., Aug. 1: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Mon., Aug. 4: Walter Camp Award
Tue., Aug. 5: Doak Walker Award
Wed., Aug. 6: Biletnikoff Award
Thu., Aug. 7: Davey O’Brien Award
Fri., Aug. 8: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Mon., Aug. 11: Bednarik Award

For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter at @NCFAA.