Justin Evans on 2026 Preseason Rimington Trophy Watch List
Nebraska’s Justin Evans was one of 40 centers named Thursday to the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy. Named after former Husker great Dave Rimington, the award will be formally presented in Lincoln next January after the announcement of the winner in December.
Evans started all 13 games at center for Nebraska last season after starting all 13 games the previous year at guard. The three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree is from Irvington, N.J.
The watch list is based on nominations from schools and data from Pro Football Focus. In the coming months, schools will be able to nominate their centers based on in-season merit.
The trophy made its debut in 2000 and is presented annually to the most outstanding center in NCAA Division I college football. Rimington was a unanimous first-team All-America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982. During his College Football Hall of Fame career, he became the Outland Trophy’s only two-time winner as the nation’s finest college interior lineman.
| The watch list | |
|---|---|
| Brady Small | Army |
| Cole Best | Auburn |
| Bruce Mitchell | BYU |
| Steven Demboski | Delaware |
| Matt Craycraft | Duke |
| Nicholas Gallegos | Eastern Michigan |
| Vincent Fiacable | FAU |
| Harrison Moore | Florida |
| Drew Bobo | Georgia |
| Anthony Boswell | Houston |
| Jake Renfro | Illinois |
| Bray Lynch | Indiana |
| Kade Pieper | Iowa |
| Coleton Price | Kentucky |
| Aaron Fenimore | Liberty |
| Braelin Moore | LSU |
| Michael Hershey | Maryland |
| Jake Guarnera | Michigan |
| Ashton Beers | Minnesota |
| Canon Boone | Mississippi State |
| Dominick Giudice | Missouri |
| Cam Nichols | Navy |
| Justin Evans | Nebraska |
| Jackson Carsello | Northwestern |
| Ashton Craig | Notre Dame |
| Carson Hinzman | Ohio State |
| Jake Maikkula | Oklahoma |
| Iapani Laloulu | Oregon |
| Brock Riker | Penn State |
| Ryan Carretta | Pittsburgh |
| Joshua Bates | SMU |
| Connor Robertson | Texas |
| Mark Nabou Jr. | Texas A&M |
| Sheridan Wilson | Texas Tech |
| Adam Lepkowski | UAB |
| Killian O’Connor | USC |
| Jimmy Liston | Utah State |
| Lyndon Cooper | Vanderbilt |
| Landen Hatchett | Washington |
| Landen Livingston | West Virginia |
| Past winners | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Logan Jones | Iowa |
| 2024 | Seth McLaughlin | Ohio State |
| 2023 | Jackson Powers-Johnson | Oregon |
| 2022 | Olu Oluwatimi | Michigan |
| 2021 | Tyler Linderbaum | Iowa |
| 2020 | Landon Dickerson | Alabama |
| 2019 | Tyler Biadasz | Wisconsin |
| 2018 | Garrett Bradbury | NC State |
| 2017 | Billy Price | Ohio State |
| 2016 | Pat Elflein | Ohio State |
| 2015 | Ryan Kelly | Alabama |
| 2014 | Reese Dismukes | Auburn |
| 2013 | Bryan Stork | Florida State |
| 2012 | Barrett Jones | Alabama |
| 2011 | David Molk | Michigan |
| 2010 | Jake Kirkpatrick | TCU |
| 2009 | Maurkice Pouncey | Florida |
| 2008 | A. Q. Shipley | Penn State |
| 2007 | Jonathan Luigs | Arkansas |
| 2006 | Dan Mozes | West Virginia |
| 2005 | Greg Eslinger | Minnesota |
| 2004 | David Baas | Michigan |
| Ben Wilkerson | LSU | |
| 2003 | Jake Grove | Virginia Tech |
| 2002 | Brett Romberg | Miami (FL) |
| 2001 | LeCharles Bentley | Ohio State |
| 2000 | Dominic Raiola | Nebraska |
