Miami's Romberg Heads 2002 Rimington Trophy Watch List
Aug. 27, 2002
NEW YORK – The Rimington Trophy Committee has announced the Watch List for the 2002 Rimington Trophy, honoring the nation’s best college center. Miami center Brett Romberg heads the list of 36 preseason candidates listed by the committee.
Romberg, a senior from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, has started the last 24 games at Miami and was one of five finalists for the 2001 Rimington Trophy. Last season, Romberg received First-Team All-American honors by Sportsline.com and was a First-Team All-BIG EAST selection by the league’s head coaches.
A key member of Miami’s 2001 national championship team, he paced a Miami offense that was the nation’s most balanced, averaging 454.8 yards per game (eighth in the nation) and 43.2 points per game (3rd nationally). Miami averaged 5.3 yards per rushing attempt and scored 25 rushing touchdowns in the regular season while Romberg anchored an offensive line that allowed just three quarterback sacks in the 2001 regular season. Romberg helped pave the way for a 1,200-yard rushing season by tailback Clinton Portis, only the sixth time a Miami back had rushed for 1,000 yards in a season.
The award is named for Dave Rimington, college football’s most decorated offensive lineman. Rimington is the only player ever to win the Outland Trophy twice, the former University of Nebraska center also won the Lombardi Rotary Award in 1982 and was named a two-time consensus All-America center and two-time Academic All-American.
The Rimington Trophy, established in 2000, is co-sponsored by Black and Decker and Canon, USA. Past Winners include LeCharles Bentley of Ohio State in 2001 and Nebraska’s Dominic Raiola in 2000. The 2002 award will be presented Dec. 14 in Lincoln, Neb., proceeds from the Rimington Trophy presentation will benefit the Boomer Esiason Foundation and it’s fight against cystic fibrosis.
The watch list for the 2002 Rimington Trophy includes the top centers playing NCAA Division 1-A football:
Brett Romberg, Miami, (Sr., 6-3, 290)Kevin Bailey, Virginia, (Jr., 6-6, 294)Zach Butler, Iowa State, (Sr., 6-3, 292)Vince Carter, Oklahoma, (So., 6-3, 277)Ben Claxton, Mississippi, (Sr., 6-3, 288)Alonzo Ephraim, Alabama, (Sr.. 6-4, 292)Jeff Faine, Notre Dame, (Sr., 6-3, 296)John Garrison, Nebraska, (Sr., 6-4, 290)Scott Huff, Boise State, (Sr.,6-2, 286)Tyler Hunt, Washington State, (Sr., 6-3, 290)Johnathan Ingram, San Diego State, (Sr., 6-2, 300)Al James, Houston, (Jr., 6-0, 300)Al Johnson, Wisconsin, (Sr., 6-4, 291)Cody Johnson, Nevada, (Sr. 6-4. 294)Blake Jones, Mississippi State, (Jr., 6-2, 291)Austin King, Northwestern, (Sr., 6-4, 284)Dan Koppen, Boston College, (Sr., 6-3, 293)Wayne Lucier, Colorado, (Sr., 6-4, 295)Joe Mazur, Bowling Green, (Sr., 6-2, 290)Matt Martinez, Idaho, (Jr., 6-2, 317)Dustin McQuivey, Utah, (Jr., 6-3, 294)Rodney Michael, Fresno State, (Sr., 6-4, 300)Antoine Mirambeau, Florida State, (Sr., 6-4, 280)Bruce Nelson, Iowa, (Sr., 6-4, 290)Ben Nowland, Auburn, (Sr., 6-3, 289)Brian Ottney, Michigan State (Jr., 6-6, 305)Jamal Powell, TCU (Sr., 6-4, 294)Jimond Pugh, Memphis, (Sr., 6-3 290)Chad Reed, Pittsburgh, (Sr., 6-3, 290)Hugh Reilly, Georgia Tech, (Jr., 6-4, 285)A.J. Ricker, Missouri, (Jr., 6-4, 285)Nick Romeo, Syracuse, (Jr., 6-2, 297)Anthony Taylor, Tulsa, (Sr., 6-1, 287)B.J. VanBriesen, New Mexico State, (Sr., 6-3, 325)Ben Wilkerson, LSU, (So., 6-4 300)Dan Weaver, Oregon, (Jr., 6-5, 280)
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