Per MSU Media Relations:
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's Cole Smith has been named to the watch list for the 2023 Rimington Trophy, the organization announced on Friday. The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the most outstanding center in NCAA Division I College Football.
Smith, a native of Pontotoc, Miss., started all 13 games last season for the Bulldogs and has 28 career starts across 38 career games. Smith anchored an offensive line last season that helped the Bulldogs average 311 yards per game through the air, which was good for the 10th-best passing attack in America last season. Smith helped the rushing attack average 82 yards per game on the ground. Last season, Smith earned a Pro Football Focus pass-block grade of 71.6 while allowing just one sack across 694 pass-blocking snaps. He earned a pass-blocking efficiency score of 98.7.
This year, the Trophy committee worked with Pro Football Focus (PFF) to narrow 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 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.
Mississippi State will kickoff the 2023 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 2, when the Bulldogs host Southeastern Louisiana at 3 p.m. (CT). Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here or visiting hailstate.com/tickets.
2023 Rimington Trophy Watch List
ACC
Matthew Lee, Miami
Maurice Smith, Florida State
Will Putnam, Clemson
Dylan McMahom, NC State
Jacob Monk, Duke
Bryan Hudson, Louisville
Jake Kradel, Pittsburgh
SEC
Beaux Limmer, Arkansas
Seth McLaughlin, Alabama
Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia
Cole Smith, Mississippi State
Cooper Mays, Tennessee
Bryce Foster, Texas A&M
BIG 12
Zach Frazier, West Virginia
Clark Barrington, Baylor
Connor Pay, BYU
Rusty Staats, Texas Tech
Jack Freeman, Houston
Mike Novitsky, Kansas
Jake Majors, Texas
John Lanz, TCU
BIG10
Drake Nugent, Michigan
Nick Samac, Michigan State
Gus Hartwig, Purdue
Logan Jones, Iowa
Ben Scott, Nebraska
PAC 12
Jake Levengood, Oregon State
Justin Dedich, USC
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
Duke Clemens, UCLA
Matteo Mele, Washington
Matthew Cindric, California
Conference USA
Brady Wilson, UAB
Andrew Meyer, UTEP
American
Branson Hickman, SMU
Jacob Likes, Memphis
Sincere Haynesworth, Tulane
Independent
Zeke Correll, Notre Dame
MAC
Jacob Gideon, Western Michigan
Sun Belt
Isaiah Helms, Appalachian State
For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU football on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateFB."
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's Cole Smith has been named to the watch list for the 2023 Rimington Trophy, the organization announced on Friday. The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the most outstanding center in NCAA Division I College Football.
Smith, a native of Pontotoc, Miss., started all 13 games last season for the Bulldogs and has 28 career starts across 38 career games. Smith anchored an offensive line last season that helped the Bulldogs average 311 yards per game through the air, which was good for the 10th-best passing attack in America last season. Smith helped the rushing attack average 82 yards per game on the ground. Last season, Smith earned a Pro Football Focus pass-block grade of 71.6 while allowing just one sack across 694 pass-blocking snaps. He earned a pass-blocking efficiency score of 98.7.
This year, the Trophy committee worked with Pro Football Focus (PFF) to narrow 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 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.
Mississippi State will kickoff the 2023 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 2, when the Bulldogs host Southeastern Louisiana at 3 p.m. (CT). Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here or visiting hailstate.com/tickets.
2023 Rimington Trophy Watch List
ACC
Matthew Lee, Miami
Maurice Smith, Florida State
Will Putnam, Clemson
Dylan McMahom, NC State
Jacob Monk, Duke
Bryan Hudson, Louisville
Jake Kradel, Pittsburgh
SEC
Beaux Limmer, Arkansas
Seth McLaughlin, Alabama
Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia
Cole Smith, Mississippi State
Cooper Mays, Tennessee
Bryce Foster, Texas A&M
BIG 12
Zach Frazier, West Virginia
Clark Barrington, Baylor
Connor Pay, BYU
Rusty Staats, Texas Tech
Jack Freeman, Houston
Mike Novitsky, Kansas
Jake Majors, Texas
John Lanz, TCU
BIG10
Drake Nugent, Michigan
Nick Samac, Michigan State
Gus Hartwig, Purdue
Logan Jones, Iowa
Ben Scott, Nebraska
PAC 12
Jake Levengood, Oregon State
Justin Dedich, USC
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
Duke Clemens, UCLA
Matteo Mele, Washington
Matthew Cindric, California
Conference USA
Brady Wilson, UAB
Andrew Meyer, UTEP
American
Branson Hickman, SMU
Jacob Likes, Memphis
Sincere Haynesworth, Tulane
Independent
Zeke Correll, Notre Dame
MAC
Jacob Gideon, Western Michigan
Sun Belt
Isaiah Helms, Appalachian State
For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU football on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateFB."
