Antoine Caldwell University of Alabama 6'3", 305 lbs. Senior
Jonathan Luigs University of Arkansas 6'4", 314 lbs. Senior
Alex Mack University of California - Berkeley 6'5", 320 lbs. Senior
A.Q. Shipley Penn State University 6'1", 300 lbs. Senior
Max Unger University of Oregon 6'5", 300 lbs. Senior
Eric Wood University of Louisville 6'4", 309 lbs. Senior
The winner of the Rimington Trophy will be announced during the ESPNU/Home Depot College Football Awards show, broadcast live from Orlando, Florida on ESPN on Thursday, December 11, 2008.
The winner of the Rimington Trophy is selected by determining the consensus All-American center pick from four existing All-America teams.
While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these four prestigious teams to determine a winner:
American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Walter Camp Foundation (WCF) Sporting News (SN) Football Writers Association of America (FWAA)
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. 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 four 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 17, 2009.
About the Rimington Trophy The nine-year old trophy is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Esiason created his foundation in 1993 to support research and treatment of cystic fibrosis. Esiason and Dave Rimington were teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals from 1984-87. Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first team All- America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982 during which he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's premiere college interior lineman.
Past recipients include Dominic Raiola (Nebraska. 2000), LeCharles Bentley (Ohio State, 2001), Brett Romberg (Miami, 2002), Jake Grove (Virginia Tech, 2003), co- winners David Baas (Michigan, 2004) and Ben Wilkerson (LSU, 2004), Greg Eslinger (Minnesota, 2005), Dan Mozes (West Virginia, 2006), and Jonathan Luigs (2007). Since its inception the Rimington Trophy has raised over $1.3 million for its benefactor, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It, in turn, is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation which, to date, has raised nearly $65 million for Cystic Fibrosis research.