SEC centers who can win the Rimington Trophy

Each year, the Boomer Esiason Foundation awards the Rimington Trophy to the nation’s best center.

The SEC is very familiar with the honor. A conference player has earned the designation as the best at the position in six of the trophy’s 17 years, including three of the last four winners.

The Rimington Trophy recently announced its 2016 preseason watch list of the top 56 centers in the country. Among them are eight SEC players vying to make it three Rimington award winners in a row for the conference.

Here is a look at the eight SEC centers named to the 2016 Rimington Trophy’s preseason watch list.

JAMAAL CLAYBORN, MISSISSIPPI STATE

Mississippi State loses two starters from its offensive line, but the return of senior Jamaal Clayborn keeps the Bulldogs strong up the middle. The center led Mississippi State in snaps (848) as a junior after sliding over from the guard slot for the 2015 campaign. Clayborn appears to be healed from the foot injury that forced him to miss the team’s Belk Bowl win over NC State, which is good news for a Mississippi State offense that will be looking for a new identity in the post-Dak Prescott era.

ROBERT CONYERS, OLE MISS

Robert Conyers missed Ole Miss’ Week 6 contest against New Mexico State with a leg injury only to return the following week to tear his ACL against Memphis. Prior to the season-ending injury, Conyers had started five of the Rebels’ six games at center. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound senior sat out the spring while recovering from the knee injury but is expected back in the lineup to start the season. When healthy, the former right guard is consistent, seeing action in every game as a sophomore, including his first career start at center coming against LSU that season.

ALAN KNOTT, SOUTH CAROLINA

Injuries have dampened the start to Alan Knott’s career at South Carolina. As a freshman, it was an ailing knee that cost the Tyrone, Ga., native playing time, while a wonky ankle took him off the field at times for the Gamecocks in 2015. But the rising junior still managed to appear in 10 games, starting nine for interim head coach Shawn Elliott last year. Knott impressed the new coaching regime this spring in Columbia, which still technically features old offensive line coach Elliott, earning the team’s Most Improved Offensive Lineman honor, as well as the Joe Morrison Offensive Player of the Spring nod. The center underwent wrist surgery at the conclusion of spring drills but is expected to be cleared for action come fall camp. If he can stay healthy and add some weight to his 6-foot-4, 280-pound frame, Knott could very well be an anchor that Elliott needs along his offensive line.

BRANDON KUBLANOW, GEORGIA

While there is a possibility that Brandon Kublanow will move back to the guard position he played as an underclassman — be it for performance or injury reasons — it appears the center is staying put in the middle of the Georgia offensive line for the time being. Kublanow started all 13 games at center in 2015 for the Bulldogs as a junior to earn Second-Team All-SEC accolades from the Associated Press. Kublanow enters his senior year with 26 straight starts and should make a case to be among the best at the position come December, despite being one of the smallest centers on the Rimington preseason list at 6-foot-3, 282 pounds.

ETHAN POCIC, LSU

Rushing records are falling fast in LSU thanks to Leonard Fournette. However, it all begins along the Tigers offensive line and their center Ethan Pocic. The rising senior led LSU in knockdown blocks in 2015 with 128.5 which, according to lsusports.net, is the most by a Tigers lineman since at least the 2010 campaign in Baton Rouge. At 6-foot-7, 309 pounds, Pocic is the tallest and one of the heaviest centers among the SEC players represented on the Rimington preseason watch list. He’s also among the most consistent, tallying 23 starts over the last two years, including 14 at center and all of them at the position for LSU last year.

FRANK RAGNOW, ARKANSAS

Arkansas witnessed the mass exodus of its offensive line, including OL coach Sam Pittman. But the Razorbacks, fortunately, retain the services of junior Frank Ragnow, who could be among the SEC’s best despite having never started a game at center in his life. Arkansas led the conference in fewest sacks allowed for the third consecutive year, thanks in large part to Ragnow, who personally allotted defenses to drop quarterback Brandon Allen just twice all year from his position at right guard. None of those two sacks Ragnow allowed occurred in the final seven games of the season. He also wasn’t flagged for a penalty in Arkansas’ final nine games. Ragnow played more than 200 snaps over nine games at center during his first year on The Hill, earning the coaches All-SEC Freshman Team and Sporting News’ All-True Freshman Team honors. With Mitch Smothers at center in 2015, Ragnow slid over to right guard where he started all 13 of the Hogs’ contests. Bret Bielema’s offense might need to rely heavily on the likes of Ragnow as it looks to replace star running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams with the largely untested Kody Walker, Rawleigh Williams III and Devwah Whaley.

COLEMAN THOMAS, TENNESSEE

Tennessee thrust Coleman Thomas into the trenches as a true freshman, where he started five of the 11 games he played at right tackle, including a daunting task of facing Oklahoma in his first career start. The experience paid off as Thomas started every game at center for the Volunteers in 2015, save for one contest he started at right guard. That one game he started at right guard? Tennessee rung up 519 total yards on Georgia, owners of the nation’s No. 7 overall ranked defense. The Volunteers promise to have a dynamic run game in 2016 behind running backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara as well as dual-threat quarterback Josh Dobbs. They’ll need plenty of running lanes created by the 6-foot-5, 300-pound Thomas at center, who was named the SEC’s Offensive Lineman of the Week for his Week 12 effort against Missouri.

JON TOTH, KENTUCKY

Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles has referred to Jon Toth as “the best center in the country.” That was last summer. And while Towles might no longer reside in Lexington, having transferred to Boston College, the “country’s best center” is back with another year’s worth of experience under his belt to anchor the Wildcats offense. Toth has added weight, pushing his hulking 6-foot-5 frame to 310 pounds. He brings a hard-nosed, yet smart approach to the center position, making the SEC academic honor roll all three years while studying mechanical engineering. With a dozen starts in 2015, Toth has now started 35 straight games for Kentucky. He should create plenty of holes for Wildcats running back Stanley “Boom” Williams (855 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns) to potentially eclipse the 1,000-yard mark as a junior.

FORMER SEC PLAYERS TO WIN THE RIMINGTON TROPHY