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It is May, which means we are still three months away from the first college football snap, but already watch lists for some individual awards are being announced. Yesterday, the watch list for the Rimington Award, given annually to the best center, was announced.
Sixty-four players were named to the list, and four of those were players from the Mid-American Conference. They are: Alex Huettel of the Bowling Green Falcons, Greg Mancz of the Toledo Rockets, Jon Hoffing of the Western Michigan Broncos, and Nick Beamish of the Central Michigan Chippewas.
Huettel played right guard for BGSU in 2013. He was named second-team All-MAC as a redshirt sophomore. The 6-foot-3, 292-pound brick wall anchored an offensive line that helped the Falcons average 34.8 points, 266.1 passing yards, and 193.4 rushing yards per game. The Falcons ranked in the top three of the MAC in each category.
Toledo's Greg Mancz led the Rockets to the third-best total offense two years ago in the MAC, as Toledo gained 445.2 yards per game. They were also fifth in scoring offense at 31.5 points per game. This fall, Mancz will serve his fourth year as a starting offensive lineman for Toledo.
The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Jon Hoffing started 12 games for the Broncos last year. Hoffing was the one of the few bright spots for a 1-11 Bronco team that ranked near the bottom of the MAC in scoring and total offense in 2013. Hoffing is a senior this year, and the Broncos will need to lean on him to increase their win total.
Lastly, Nick Beamish has started 25 straight games for the Chippewas, dating back to the beginning of his sophomore season. The 6-foot-3, 310-pound senior was an All-MAC second-team preseason pick last season. In 2012, he helped a line that only allowed 15 sacks, which ranked 17th in the country.
The Rimington Trophy was named after three-year University of Nebraska center Dave Rimington. Rimington played with the Cornhuskers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. A committee from the Walter Camp Foundation, the Sporting News, and the Football Writers Association of America vote on the award. If a MAC player ends up winning this award it would be the first MAC player to win the trophy.