Louisville OL Pete Nygra Named to Rimington Award Watch List

The award is presented annually to the top center in college football.

Louisville center Pete Nygra / University of Louisville Athletics

Press Release from the University of Louisville:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Pete Nygra of the University of Louisville was selected to The Rimington Trophy 2024 preseason Watchlist.

This year, the Trophy committee worked with Pro Football Focus (PFF) to narrow down its list to the top 40 centers. PFF grades every player on every play of every game on how well they execute their given assignment. That play-by-play grading allowed the Trophy committee to create a watchlist based both on nominations from the schools and data provided by PFF. Once the season begins, schools will be able to nominate their centers for late addition based on in-season merit.

A transfer from Northern Illinois, Nygra played three seasons with the Huskies. He appeared in 28 career games at NIU, including starting all 12 games last season for the No. 2 rushing offense in the Mid-American Conference. He played every offensive snap and was named second team All-MAC by Phil Steele Magazine.

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, provided with data from Pro Football Focus.

(Photo of Pete Nygra via University of Louisville Athletics)

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