University of Memphis Athletics
Stephen Schuh Selected to Rimington Trophy Watch List
May 19, 2006 | Football
May 19, 2006
DALLAS, TEXAS - Memphis center Stephen Schuh was among 39 players selected to the Dave Rimington Trophy spring watch list as announced by the group today. This season marks the seventh year of the Rimington Trophy recognizing the most outstanding center in college football and the first as a regular member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA).
The spring watch list consists of college football's top men in the middle and will be updated once prior to the beginning of the season. Five sophomores, 11 juniors and 23 seniors make up the strong field.
"With only one returning finalist (Dan Mozes, West Virginia) from last season, the competition will be wide open which will certainly make for an exciting race," said Dave Rimington. "Center is a very difficult position to evaluate, and of course play, so I wish all of the candidates and their respective teams a successful season."
Schuh joined the Tigers as a walk-on in 2003 and lettered as a back-up center the last three seasons. He played in a total of 11 games in 2003 and 2004 seeing limited action behind former Rimington Trophy candidate Gene Frederic. Schuh was presented a scholarship prior to the 2005 season, and started the last seven games at center. He played all of the team's offensive snaps in the final three games of the season, and did not register a muffed snap at center this past year.
Schuh was also part of an offensive line that set the tone for All-American running back DeAngelo Williams who led the nation with an average of 178.5 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns in 2005. He also was instrumental in Memphis ranking fifth nationally in rushing offense, while the Tiger offensive line gave up just nine sacks in 2005, which led C-USA and was good for a top-five finish nationally.
2005 Rimington Trophy winner Greg Eslinger (Minnesota) was a sixth round draft pick of the Denver Broncos. In addition, 2005 marked the inaugural presentation of the President Gerald R. Ford Legends of Center Award, accepted on behalf of President Ford by John Cappelletti (1973 Heisman Trophy Winner, Penn State University) at the annual Rimington Trophy banquet.
The seven-year-old trophy is presented by Canon, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, USA and Black & Decker. The award is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. 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-American center pick from four existing All America Teams including: • 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. The Rimington Trophy 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-American teams.
The winner will be honored at the awards banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska, in January of 2007.
2006 Spring Rimington Trophy Watch List Pete Bier Army Sr. 6'4" 282 lbs Mark Bihl Michigan Sr 6'5" 297 lbs Antoine Caldwell Alabama So. 6'4" 294 lbs Aaron Danenhauer Tulsa Sr. 6'5" 302 lbs Robby D'Angelo Southern Miss Jr.r 6'1" 277 lbs Kyle DeVan Oregon State Jr. 6'2" 293 lbs Sterling Doty Houston Sr. 6'2" 285 lbs Robby Felix UTEP So. 6'3" 270 lbs Mark Fenton Colorado Jr. 6'4" 290 lbs Dustin Fry Clemson Sr. 6'3" 315 lbs Cedric Gagne-Marcoux UCF Sr. 6'2" 280 lbs Leroy Harris North Carolina St. Sr. 6'3" 295 lbs Tanner Jenkins Arkansas State Sr. 6'1" 292 lbs Brandon Jones Texas Tech Sr. 6'3" 305 lbs Nick Jones Georgia Sr. 6'3" 295 lbs Ryan Kalil Southern California Sr. 6'4" 290 lbs Jason Karcher Wyoming Sr. 6'3" 291 lbs Adam Korby Idaho So. 6'2" 292 lbs Robbie Krutilla Western Michigan Jr. 6'3" 308 lbs Doug Legursky Marshall Jr. 6'3" 308 lbs Kory Lichtensteiger Bowling Green Jr. 6'3" 305 lbs Enoka Lucas Oregon Sr. 6'4" 299 lbs Jonathan Luigs Arkansas So. 6'4" 305 lbs Kurt Mann Nebraska Sr. 6'4" 280 lbs Dan Mozes West Virginia Sr. 6'4" 290 lbs Dave Ochoa Kansas Sr. 6'4" 295 lbs James Rossi Navy Jr. 6'1" 269 lbs Samson Satele Hawaii Sr. 6'3" 311 lbs Lyle Sendlein Texas Jr. 6'5" 305 lbs Stephen Schuh Memphis Sr. 6'1" 288 lbs Adam Spieker Missouri Jr. 6'3" 310 lbs Darnell Stapleton Rutgers Sr. 6'3" 305 lbs Scott Stephenson Iowa State Sr. 6'4" 305 lbs John Sullivan Notre Dame Sr. 6'4" 280 lbs Cody Wallace Texas A&M Jr. 6'4" 296 lbs Chris White South Carolina Sr. 6'3" 316 lbs Anthony Wollschlager Miami Sr. 6'4" 281 lbs Eric Wood Louisville So. 6'4" 290 lbs Kyle Young Fresno State Jr. 6'5" 335 lbs
