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Colorado State center Jake Bennett was named to the Rimington Trophy 2016 Fall Watch List on Wednesday, an annual award presented to the most outstanding center in college football. The list was selected by the Rimington Trophy Committee after compiling nominations from programs across the country.
Bennett, a junior from Lakewood, Colo., started all 13 games in 2015, helping block for an offense that ranked third in the Mountain West with 417.0 yards per game, and was among the nation’s leaders for tackles for loss allowed (4.62 per game; 11th), sacks allowed (1.17 per game; 22nd), third-down conversions (46.0 percent, 20th), fourth-down conversions (58.8 percent, 36th), first downs (23.15 per game, 33rd) and red-zone offense (87 percent, 44th).
During his freshman campaign in 2014, Bennett started the Rams’ first three games at center before injuring his knee during a bye-week practice in mid-September. Prior to his injury, he helped the offense put up 676 yards against UC Davis, the third-most in school history. Bennett redshirted in 2013 behind Weston Richburg, a two-time Rimington Trophy Watch List member who is now one of the top centers in the NFL, playing for the New York Giants.
Bennett is one of 62 centers on the 2016 watch list, including one of six from the Mountain West and the only player from the state of Colorado. He was also on the spring watch list, which was announced in May. The winner will be recognized at the Rimington Trophy Presentation at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Neb., on Jan. 14, 2017.
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 more than $2.6 million for the cystic fibrosis community. The award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and has raised over $120 million for the fight against 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 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.
Bennett is CSU’s first player named to a 2016 watch list. The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month, with 17 of the association’s 22 awards selecting a preseason watch list.
