Nichols named to Rimington Trophy watch list

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustastangs.com:

Nichols earns spot on Rimington Trophy watch list

NEW YORK CITY (SMU) – SMU center Addison Nichols has been named to the 2025 Rimington Trophy Watch List, the organization announced in a release on Friday.

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 watch list based both on nominations from the schools and data provided by PFF.

A transfer from the University of Arkansas, Nichols played a critical role in bringing the Razorbacks to a bowl-eligible season. In 2024, the Georgia native started in all 12 games at Arkansas, leading an offense that finished 10th in the nation in both total offense (459.5) and passing yards per completion (14). The unit ranked 17th in first downs offense (314). The center helped Arkansas rush for 200-plus yards in the first three games of the 2024 season.

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Big 12 boast the most selections, each having nine athletes on the watch list. Last season, the Mustangs were represented on the same watch list with offensive lineman Justin Osborne making the cut.

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), and the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

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.

Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982. During that time, he became the John Outland Trophy's only two-time winner as the nation's finest college interior lineman.