STANFORD, Calif. – Rising fifth-year senior Jesse Burkett was named to the Rimington Trophy watch list for the second straight year, as announced Wednesday. The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the most outstanding center in college football.
Burkett has started at center each of the past two seasons, paving the way for the Cardinal's trademark rushing attack. In 2017, he was an All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention and Pac-12 All-Academic second team choice. The Japanese and symbolic systems double major also was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team for the second time.
As a junior, Burkett was named to the AP All-Bowl team (honorable mention) after starting 13 games.
Since its inception, the 17-year old award has raised over $3.6 million for the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy's only two-time winner as the nation's top college interior lineman.