Hickman Named to Rimington Watch List

Lincoln - Nebraska senior Jacob Hickman was named to the 2009 Rimington Trophy Watch List, the award's committee announced Thursday. The honor is bestowed annually upon the nation's top center.

Hickman, a two-time honorable-mention All-Big 12 pick, was one of 44 players named to the Watch List. Hickman has started 23 games in his career including all 13 contests at center in 2008. This spring he was one of three returning starters on the Husker offensive front and will look to provide leadership to a youthful offense this fall.

The 2009 list includes 12 returning players from the 2008 list. The SEC checks in with the most candidates, as six players were named, while the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and WAC are represented by five players each.

The Rimington Trophy winner is determined by which player receives the most first-team votes from the America Football Coaches Association, the Walter Camp Foundation, Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America. The award will be presented during a banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln on Jan. 16, 2010.

The ten-year old trophy is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, and has raised over $1.3 million for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since its inception, to go along with the $73 million raised by the foundation. Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a concensus first-team All-America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy's only two-time winner. Former Nebraska winners of the Rimington Trophy include Dominic Raiola in 2000.