Wattenberg is Candidate for Rimington Trophy, Given to Nation's Top Center

The Husky lineman joins the list of 40 candidates for the national honor.
Wattenberg is Candidate for Rimington Trophy, Given to Nation's Top Center
Wattenberg is Candidate for Rimington Trophy, Given to Nation's Top Center /

Luke Wattenberg seems like he's played football at the University of Washington forever. 

Yet this much is clear: he keeps getting better with age.

On Friday, the sixth-year senior was named as one of 40 players to the watch list for the Rimington Trophy — which is given annually to the nation's most outstanding college center. 

Wattenberg, who has started more games (36) than any other active Husky footballer, made the switch to No. 1 center in 2020 after he previously opened games at left guard and left tackle. 

He's bidding to become the first Pac-12 player to receive the Rimington Award in 22 seasons.

Doing the unthinkable is not out of Wattenberg's realm.

The 6-foot-5, 295-pounder from Trabuco Canyon amazingly will become a fifth-year Husky starter this coming season, thanks to pandemic provisions, after redshirting back in 2016.

The Rimington Trophy is named for Dave Rimington, who was a consensus first-team All-American in 1981 and 1982 for Nebraska and has long been considered the college game's greatest snapper.

Rimington, now 61, was so good, in fact, he was named UPI Big Eight Player of the Year and AP Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year in 1981, the only time that's happened. He twice won the Outland Trophy and he finished fifth in the voting for the '82 Heisman Trophy. The school retired his No. 50 jersey. 

Wattenberg won't reach those levels of acclaim, but he's been a steady performer at Washington. Center seems to agree with him. After changing positions, he received All-Pac-12 honorable mention accolades for the first time in 2020. He also was named Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week for his blocking efforts in the Huskies' 44-27 victory over Arizona.

He's one of seven Pac-12 players under consideration for the award this time, more than any other conference. Maybe Wattenberg or one of his league peers will make a Rimington breakthrough.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.