University of Houston Athletics
Barnett Named To Preseason Watch List
5/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
HOUSTON, Texas - University of Houston junior center Carl Barnett on Wednesday was named to the 2008 Spring Watch List for the Rimington Trophy, the award given to the nation's top center.
The list includes two finalists from the 2007 Watch List, as well as the 2007 winner of the Rimington Trophy, Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs. The Trophy has not had a repeat winner in its history. In all, there are 42 players on the Watch List. A total of seven players represent the Big-12 Conference. The PAC-10 Conference is represented by six players, while the ACC and SEC have five players each on the Watch List.
An honorable mention, All-Conference USA selection last season, Barnett was a member of an offensive line that compiled more than 500 yards of total offense and more than 34.0 points per game. Barnett started all 13 games at center, becoming one of 12 players to accomplish the feat.
Barnett helped clear holes and pass protect when the Cougars registered 748 yards of total offense against C-USA rival Rice, when UH achieved an NCAA first: a 300-yard receiver (Donnie Avery) and a 200-yard rusher (Anthony Alridge) in one game.
While more than a dozen All-America football teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these four prestigious teams to determine a winner:
American Football Coaches Association Walter Camp Foundation The Sporting News Football Writers Association of America
Because the selectors of these four 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. Our 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 four All-American 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 the Rimington Trophy committee.
The winner will be honored at the Rimington Trophy Presentation banquet at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on January 17, 2009.
The Boomer Esiason Foundation presents the nine-year old trophy. Past recipients include Nebraska's Dominic Raiola, Ohio State's LeCharles Bentley, Miami's Brett Romberg, Virginia Tech's Jake Grove, co-winners Michigan's David Baas and LSU's Ben Wilkerson, Minnesota's Greg Eslinger, West Virginia's Dan Mozes and Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised over $1.3 million for the award's benefactor, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation that to date has raised over $65 million for CF research.
Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first team All-America Center at 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.
The Rimington Trophy is a fully accredited member of the National College Football Awards Association.
