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Center Lonergan on Rimington Trophy Watch List

by Bill Martin (@LSUBillMartin)
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Center Lonergan on Rimington Trophy Watch List

BATON ROUGE — LSU senior center P.J. Lonergan is one of 51 players across the nation who were named to the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, which is annually presented to college football’s top center, it was announced on Tuesday.

Lonergan headlines a list of 10 Southeastern Conference players on the watch list, and he seeks to become the first Tiger to win the award since Ben Wilkerson earned the honor in 2004.

Lonergan, a native of New Orleans, is one of four returning starters on a veteran offensive line for LSU this season. In 2012, he will become the first Tiger center to start at least one game at the position in four seasons since Ben Wilkerson did so from 2001-04.

As a junior, Lonergan saw action on 677 snaps and recorded 65.5 knockdowns. He has started 26 career games and LSU owns a 22-4 record in those contests.

The Rimington Trophy committee incorporates four All-America teams in choosing a winner – American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, Sporting News and Football Writers Association of America. The winner will be announced at the ESPN College Football Awards in December and then honored at a banquet in Lincoln, Neb., on Jan. 12, 2013.

Lonergan and the Tigers open the 2012 season against North Texas on Sept. 1 in Tiger Stadium.

2012 NCFAA Preseason Watch List Calendar
Monday, July 9 – Bednarik Award (Tyrann Mathieu, Sam Montgomery, Barkevious Mingo, Eric Reid
Tuesday, July 10 – Mackey Award, Rimington Trophy (P.J. Lonergan)
Wednesday, July 11 – Lou Groza Award, Ray Guy Award
Thursday, July 12 – Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Outland Trophy
Friday, July 13 – Jim Thorpe Award
Monday, July 16 – Butkus Award, Lombardi Award
Tuesday, July 17 – Biletnikoff Award
Wednesday, July 18 – Davey O’Brien Award
Thursday, July 19 – Doak Walker Award
Friday, July 20 – Walter Camp Award