Conway, S.C. – Coastal Carolina redshirt junior center Trey Carter was named to the 2019 Rimington Trophy watch list, the Rimington Trophy Committee announced on Friday. In the 20th anniversary of the award, the committee accepted nominations from all eligible programs across the country for consideration.

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 $4.2 million for the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis.

Both a 2019 Phil Steele and Athlon Sports preseason All-Sun Belt fourth team selection, Carter has started 24-straight games entering the 2019 season. Named All-Sun Belt honorable mention in each of the last two years (2017 and 2018), the Alabama native played in and started all 12 games at center for the Chants. He was a vital part of the offensive unit up front that led the CCU rushing attack to rank fourth in the Sun Belt and 41st nationally with an average of 198.7 rushing yards per game and helped to lead the way for the Chants offense to total 574 offensive yards in the win at Campbell (Sept. 12), the most for a CCU offense in a single game since 2015.

Carter, who graded out as the top offensive lineman in 10 of the 12 games 2018, recorded a season-high 15 takedown blocks in the road win at UMass (Oct. 20) and 14 knockdown blocks in the road win at Louisiana (Sept. 22) and the following week on the road at Troy (Sept. 29).

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. The winner will be recognized at the Rimington Trophy Presentation at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020. 

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 and a list of past recipients, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com.

The Chanticleers will host a total of six home games inside newly renovated Brooks Stadium, including a Thursday night primetime game on ESPNU versus Louisiana on Nov. 7.

Courtesy: CCU Athletics