May 2, 2007

Chapel Hill, N.C. ---- University of North Carolina senior center Scott Lenahan has been named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List. The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the nation's top center. Former Tar Heel Jason Brown was a finalist for the award in 2004.

Lenahan started 11 of 12 games last season. The 6-1, 290-pound senior from Marietta, Ga., played on the first-team offense during the spring under new head coach Butch Davis. He will compete with Ben Lemming for the starting spot this fall.

Lenahan is one of 23 seniors on the 46-man preseason list.

The eight year old trophy is presented by Canon, Cornhusker Marriott, and Logitech. The award is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. West Virginia's Dan Mozes, Minnesota's Greg Eslinger, Michigan's David Baas (2004 co-winner), LSU's Ben Wilkerson (2004 co-winner), Virginia Tech's Jake Grove, Miami's Brett Romberg, Ohio State's LeCharles Bentley, and Nebraska's Dominic Raiola are past recipients. 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.

The winner is selected by determining the consensus All-America Center pick from four existing All- America Teams: American Football Coaches Association; Walter Camp Foundation; 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 maybe 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 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 an awards banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska in January of 2008.

2007 Rimington Trophy Watch List