HONOLULU - University of Hawai'i center Samson Satele is among 39 collegiate football players on the spring watch list for the 2006 Dave Rimington Trophy, announced today. This season marks the seventh year of the Rimington Trophy recognizing the most outstanding center in college football and the first as a Regular Member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA).

Satele (6-3, 311, Senior) is pegged to start at center for the Warriors in 2006 after serving as starting guard for the past two seasons. The graduate of Kailua High School on Oahu was a first team all-WAC pick in 2005 after posting a team-high 32 knockdowns and giving up two sacks in 578 pass attempts. The Kaneohe, Oahu resident is also on the preseason watch list for the 2006 Rotary Lombardi Award.

The spring watch list will be updated once prior to the beginning of the season. Five Sophomores, eleven Juniors and twenty-three Seniors make up the very strong field.

"With only one returning finalist (Dan Mozes, West Virginia) from last season the competition will be wide open which will certainly make for an exciting race. Center is a very difficult position to evaluate and of course play so I wish all of the candidates and their respective teams a successful season", said Dave Rimington

2005 Rimington Trophy winner Greg Eslinger, Minnesota was a sixth round draft pick of the Denver Broncos and is expected to be a big contributor on the Broncos offensive line. In addition 2005 marked the inaugural presentation of the President Gerald R. Ford Legends of Center Award, accepted on behalf of President Ford by John Cappelletti (1973 Heisman Trophy Winner, Penn State University) at the annual Rimington Trophy banquet.

The seven-year-old trophy is presented by Canon, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, USA and Black & Decker. The award is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Minnesota's Greg Eslinger, Michigan's David Baas (2004 co-winner), LSU's Ben Wilkerson (2004 co-winner), Virginia Tech's Jake Grove, Miami's Brett Romberg, Ohio State's LeCharles Bentley, and Nebraska's Dominic Raiola are past recipients. Esiason created his foundation in 1993 to support research and treatment of cystic fibrosis. Esiason and Dave Rimington were teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals from 1984-87. Rimington the award's namesake, was a consensus first team All- America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982 during which he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's premiere college interior lineman.

The winner is selected by determining the consensus All-American center pick from four existing All America Teams including:

American Football Coaches Association
Walter Camp Foundation
Sporting News
Football Writers Association of America

Because the selectors of these four 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. Our policy is to count all players that play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, even though they maybe listed as guards or tackles on the four All American 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 most second team votes will win. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by the Rimington Trophy committee.

The winner will be honored at the awards banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska, in January of 2007.

2006 Spring Rimington Trophy Watch List

Pete Bier, Army (Senior, 6-4, 282)
Mark Bihl, Michigan (Senior, 6-5, 297)
Antoine Caldwell, Alabama (Sophomore, 6-4, 294)
Aaron Danenhauer, Tulsa (Senior, 6-5, 302)
Robby D'Angelo, Southern Mississippi (Junior, 6-1, 277)
Kyle DeVan, Oregon State (Junior, 6-2, 293)
Sterling Doty, Houston (Senior, 6-2, 285)
Robby Felix, UTEP (Sophomore, 6-3, 270)
Mark Fenton, Colorado (Junior, 6-4, 290)
Dustin Fry, Clemson (Senior, 6-3, 315)
Cedric Gagne-Marcoux, Central Florida (Senior, 6-2, 280)
Leroy Harris, North Carolina State (Senior, 6-3, 295)
Tanner Jenkins, Arkansas State (Senior, 6-1, 292)
Brandon Jones, Texas Tech (Senior, 6-3, 305)
Nick Jones, Georgia (Senior, 6-3, 295)
Ryan Kalil, Southern California (Senior, 6-4, 290)
Jason Karcher, Wyoming (Senior, 6-3, 291)
Adam Korby, Idaho (Sophomore, 6-2, 292)
Robbie Krutilla, Western Michigan (Junior, 6-3, 308)
Doug Legursky, Marshall (Junior, 6-3, 308)
Kory Lichtensteiger, Bowling Green (Junior, 6-3, 305)
Enoka Lucas, Oregon (Senior, 6-4, 299)
Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas (Sophomore, 6-4, 305)
Kurt Mann, Nebraska (Senior, 6-4, 280)
Dan Mozes, West Virginia (Senior, 6-4, 290)
Dave Ochoa, Kansas (Senior, 6-4, 295)
James Rossi, Navy (Junior, 6-1, 269)
Samson Satele, Hawai'I (Senior, 6-3, 311)
Lyle Sendlein, Texas (Junior, 6-5, 305)
Stephen Schuh, Memphis (Senior, 6-1, 288)
Adam Spieker, Missouri (Junior, 6-3, 310)
Darnell Stapleton, Rutgers (Senior, 6-3, 305)
Scott Stephenson, Iowa State (Senior, 6-4, 305)
John Sullivan, Notre Dame (Senior, 6-4, 280)
Cody Wallace, Texas A&M (Junior, 6-4, 296)
Chris White, South Carolina (Senior, 6-3, 316)
Anthony Wollschlager, Miami (Senior, 6-4, 281)
Eric Wood, Louisville (Sophomore, 6-4, 290)
Kyle Young, Fresno State (Junior, 6-5, 335)

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