NEW YORK (May 17, 2016) – FIU senior
Michael Montero has been selected as one of the 57 best Division I football centers, earning a spot on the Rimington Trophy's 2016 Spring Watch List as announced by the Rimington Trophy Committee on Tuesday.
The 2016 Spring Watch List is comprised of student-athletes who have demonstrated excellence at the center position in the past and are expected to do so again during the 2016 season.
Montero enters his senior season having appeared in 30 games during his FIU career, starting in 13. Last season, the Miami native appeared and started in all 12 games at center for the Panthers, earning Second-Team All-C-USA honors. He was named game captain three times (at Indiana - 9/12; UTEP - 10/10; Charlotte - 11/7) and was part of an offensive line that helped gained 4,173 yards (fifth-most in school history), including 2,854 through the air (second-most in school history). He helped FIU record a school-record 22 TD passes and 15 rushing TDs (sixth-most in school history). He was named Second-Team All-C-USA by
Phil Steele.
The following is a list of those named to the 2016 Spring Watch List:
| Conference |
School |
|
First Name |
Last Name |
Class Year |
Height |
Weight |
| AAC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Cincinnati |
|
Deyshawn |
Bond |
SR |
6'1 |
295 |
| |
Connecticut |
|
Ryan |
Crozier |
RS SO |
6'4 |
296 |
| |
Houston |
|
Will |
Noble |
SO |
6'4 |
290 |
| |
Memphis |
|
Drew |
Kyser |
SO |
6'5 |
300 |
| |
SMU |
|
Evan |
Brown |
JR |
6'3 |
306 |
| |
Temple |
|
Brendan |
McGowan |
Grad |
6'3 |
298 |
| |
Tulsa |
|
Chandler |
Miller |
SO |
6'3 |
290 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ACC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Clemson |
|
Jay |
Guillermo |
SR |
6'3 |
325 |
| |
Florida State |
|
Alec |
Eberle |
RS SO |
6'4 |
287 |
| |
Georgia Tech |
|
Freddie |
Burden |
RS SR |
6'4 |
299 |
| |
Miami |
|
Nicholas |
Linder |
JR |
6'3 |
300 |
| |
North Carolina |
|
Lucas |
Crowley |
SR |
6'3 |
290 |
| |
Pittsburgh |
|
Alex |
Officer |
RS JR |
6'4 |
335 |
| |
Syracuse |
|
Jason |
Emerich |
RS SR |
6'3 |
284 |
| |
Virginia |
|
Jackson |
Matteo |
JR |
6'5 |
290 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Big Ten |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Illinois |
|
Joe |
Spencer |
SR |
6'4 |
300 |
| |
Iowa |
|
Sean |
Welsh |
JR |
6'3 |
288 |
| |
Maryland |
|
Brendan |
Moore |
SO |
6'3 |
295 |
| |
Michigan |
|
Mason |
Cole |
JR |
6'5 |
305 |
| |
Nebraska |
|
Dylan |
Utter |
SR |
6'1 |
295 |
| |
Wisconsin |
|
Michael |
Deiter |
SO |
6'6 |
316 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Big 12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Baylor |
|
Kyle |
Fuller |
SR |
6'5 |
310 |
| |
Kansas State |
|
Dalton |
Risner |
SO |
6'5 |
300 |
| |
Oklahoma |
|
Jonathan |
Alvarez |
Junior |
6'3 |
315 |
| |
Oklahoma State |
|
Brad |
Lundblade |
JR |
6'3 |
300 |
| |
TCU |
|
Austin |
Schlottman |
JR |
6'6 |
300 |
| |
Texas Tech |
|
Tony |
Morales |
SR |
6'3 |
285 |
| |
West Virginia |
|
Tyler |
Orlosky |
RS SR |
6'4 |
295 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| C-USA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
FIU |
|
Michael |
Montero |
SR |
6'2 |
299 |
| |
Florida Atlantic |
|
Dillon |
DeBoer |
Grad |
6'6 |
295 |
| |
Middle Tennessee |
|
Daniel |
Stephens |
SR |
6'2 |
306 |
| |
Old Dominion |
|
Nick |
Clarke |
SO |
6'4 |
301 |
| |
Southern Miss |
|
Cameron |
Tom |
SR |
6'4 |
287 |
| |
WKU |
|
Max |
Halpin |
RS SR |
6'3 |
295 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| MAC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Bowling Green |
|
Tim |
McAuliffe |
RS JR |
6'0 |
272 |
| |
Buffalo |
|
James |
O'Hagan |
SO |
6'2 |
308 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mtn. West |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Colorado State |
|
Jake |
Bennett |
JR |
6'3 |
295 |
| |
Hawaii |
|
Asotui |
Eli |
RS SO |
6'4 |
295 |
| |
Nevada |
|
Nathan |
Goltry |
SR |
6'2 |
300 |
| |
San Diego State |
|
Arthur |
Flores |
SR |
6'5 |
305 |
| |
Utah State |
|
Austin |
Stephens |
SR |
6'3 |
305 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pac-12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
USC |
|
Toa |
Lobendahn |
JR |
6'3 |
290 |
| |
Washington |
|
Coleman |
Shelton |
JR |
6'4 |
292 |
| |
Washington State |
|
Riley |
Sorenson |
SR |
6'4 |
327 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| SEC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Arkansas |
|
Frank |
Ragnow |
JR |
6'5 |
314 |
| |
Georgia |
|
Brandon |
Kublanow |
SR |
6'3 |
282 |
| |
Kentucky |
|
Jon |
Toth |
SR |
6'5 |
310 |
| |
LSU |
|
Ethan |
Pocic |
SR |
6'7 |
309 |
| |
Mississippi State |
|
Jamaal |
Clayborn |
SR |
6'4 |
315 |
| |
Ole Miss |
|
Robert |
Conyers |
SR |
6'5 |
290 |
| |
South Carolina |
|
Alan |
Knott |
RS JR |
6'4 |
280 |
| |
Tennessee |
|
Coleman |
Thomas |
JR |
6'5 |
301 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sun Belt |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Arkansas State |
|
Devin |
Mondie |
SR |
6'5 |
304 |
| |
Georgia Southern |
|
Andy |
Kwon |
SR |
6'2 |
300 |
| |
Georgia State |
|
Gabe |
Mobley |
SO |
6'2 |
285 |
| |
Idaho |
|
Steve |
Matlock |
SR |
6'2 |
270 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Indpt. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Notre Dame |
|
Sam |
Mustipher |
JR |
6'2 |
305 |
While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee used these three prestigious teams to determine a winner:
- Walter Camp Foundation (WCF)
- Sporting News (SN)
- Football Writers Association of America (FWAA)
Because the selectors of these three All-America teams can place centers in a "mix" of offensive linemen that includes guards and tackles, their 11- man first teams can often have two centers. The Rimington Trophy committee's policy is to count all players that play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, even though they may be listed as guards or tackles on the All- America teams.
The center with the most first team votes will be determined the winner. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with the most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy committee. The
winner will be recognized at the Rimington Trophy Presentation at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday, January 14, 2017.
* * *
About the Rimington Trophy
The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA Division I-A College Football. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised over $2.6 million for the cystic fibrosis community. The award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and has raised over $120 million for the fight against cystic fibrosis.
Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's finest college interior lineman.
For more on the Rimington Trophy and a list of past recipients, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com
About the NCFAA
The Rimington Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about its story.
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For the latest information on Panthers football, follow us on Twitter, @FIUFootball, and check out
Pete Pelegrin's in-depth coverage of FIU Athletics on his official blog, The Prowl, at
www.FIUSports.com.
2016 FIU Football Schedule
Sept. 1 INDIANA
Sept. 9 MARYLAND
Sept. 17 at Massachusetts
Sept. 24 UCF
Oct. 1 FLORIDA ATLANTIC*
Oct. 8 at UTEP
Oct. 15 at Charlotte
Oct. 22 LOUISIANA TECH* (Homecoming)
Oct. 29 MIDDLE TENNESSEE*
Nov. 5 at WKU*
Nov. 19 MARSHALL*
Nov. 26 at Old Dominion*
* denotes Conference USA Games
Home games at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium are capitalized and bolded;
For FIU football ticket information, contact the University Credit Union Box Office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU:
Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
