Another 2012 Watch List has been announced as the summer offseason rolls along, this time from the Rimington Trophy, the award given to (per a Rimington statement) "the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA Division I-A College Football."*Of the 50 names included on the list, several stand out: Notre Dame's Braxston Cave, Iowa's James Ferentz, LSU's P.J. Lonergan, USC's Khaled Holmes. But in an unusual development for an offensive line award like the Rimington, the trophy will enter the season with a clear and heavy favorite: Alabama's Barrett Jones, the unanimous All-American, 2011 Outland Trophy winner, and two-time first-team All-SEC honoree at right guard and then left tackle.
Jones was expected to enter the 2011 NFL Draft and become a first-round selection, but elected instead to return for his senior season. He'll now spend that season at center after Nick Saban's decision to make room for sophomore (and former five-star recruit) Cyrus Kouandjio and left tackle.
In the event of injury or another position switch, the Rimington field will be wide open. But if not, it will take a very special season indeed for anyone to beat out a player with the kind of name recognition and immense skill boasted by Jones.
Here's the complete list:
| Eloy Atkinson | UTEP | 6'3" | 305 | Senior |
| Mario Benavides | Louisville | 6'4" | 301 | RS Senior |
| Nick Carlson | Wyoming | 6'4" | 292 | Senior |
| Braxston Cave | Notre Dame | 6'3" | 304 | Graduate |
| Reese Dismukes | Auburn | 6'3" | 302 | Sophomore |
| Trent Dupy | Tulsa | 6'2" | 285 | Senior |
| Dillon Farrell | New Mexico | 6'5" | 290 | Junior |
| James Ferentz | Iowa | 6'2" | 284 | Senior |
| Jay Finch | Georgia Tech | 6'3" | 283 | RS Junior |
| B.J. Finney | Kansas State | 6'4" | 303 | Sophomore |
| Travis Frederick | Wisconsin | 6'4" | 328 | Junior |
| Dalton Freeman | Clemson | 6'5" | 285 | Graduate |
| James Fry | TCU | 6'3" | 290 | Senior |
| Kevin Galeher | Western Michigan | 6'3" | 300 | Senior |
| Hronis Grasu | Oregon | 6'3" | 284 | Sophomore |
| Ben Habern | Oklahoma | 6'4" | 292 | Senior |
| Gus Handler | Colorado | 6'3" | 295 | Junior |
| Jonotthan Harrison | Florida | 6'3" | 300 | RS Junior |
| Khaled Holmes | USC | 6'4" | 305 | Senior |
| Andre Huval | Louisiana-Lafayette | 6'1" | 305 | Junior |
| Alec Johnson | San Diego State | 6'3" | 300 | Senior |
| T.J. Johnson | South Carolina | 6'6" | 319 | Senior |
| Barrett Jones | Alabama | 6'5" | 302 | Senior |
| Zac Kerin | Toledo | 6'5" | 294 | Junior |
| Tyler Larsen | Utah State | 6'4" | 308 | Junior |
| Patrick Lewis | Texas A&M | 6'2" | 306 | Senior |
| P.J. Lonergan | LSU | 6'4" | 305 | Senior |
| Mackey MacPerson | Syracuse | 6'2" | 269 | Junior |
| Joe Madsen | West Virginia | 6'4" | 310 | RS Senior |
| Mike Marboe | Idaho | 6'3" | 301 | Sophomore |
| Will Matte | Indiana | 6'2" | 290 | RS Senior |
| Blake McJunkin | SMU | 6'2" | 295 | Senior |
| Andrew Miller | Virginia Tech | 6'4" | 300 | RS Junior |
| Graham Pocic | Illinois | 6'7" | 305 | Senior |
| Ryan Powis | Army | 6'0" | 257 | Sophomore |
| Austin Quattrochi | Southern Mississippi | 6'3" | 292 | RS Junior |
| Jordan Rae | UCF | 6'2" | 275 | Senior |
| Weston Richburg | Colorado State | 6'4" | 297 | Junior |
| Sam Schwartzstein | Stanford | 6'3" | 290 | Senior |
| Matt Smith | Kentucky | 6'4" | 291 | Senior |
| Matt Stankiewitch | Penn State | 6'3" | 295 | Senior |
| Tevita Stevens | Utah | 6'3" | 302 | Senior |
| Travis Swanson | Arkansas | 6'5" | 305 | Junior |
| Evan Swindall | Ole Miss | 6'2" | 300 | Junior |
| Ryan Turnley | Pittsburgh | 6'6" | 320 | Senior |
| Brandon Vitabile | Northwestern | 6'3" | 300 | Sophomore |
| Stephen Warner | Louisiana Tech | 6'0" | 295 | RS Senior |
| Robert Waterman | UNLV | 6'2" | 290 | Sophomore |
| Camden Wentz | NC State | 6'3" | 225 | Senior |
*Nicely done, Rimington folk; we've never really liked that whole "FBS"/"FCS" thing, either.
