BYU C Connor Pay Named To Rimington Trophy Watch List
Jul 22, 2022, 10:55 AM | Updated: 10:55 am
(L-R) Blake Freeland #71, Chandon Herring #77, Connor Pay #70, and Tristen Hoge #69 of the Brigham Young Cougars celebrate a touchdown in the first half against the Central Florida Knights at FAU Stadium on December 22, 2020 in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – BYU offensive lineman Connor Pay has been named to the Rimington Trophy watch list, which is given to the best center in college football.
The trophy is named after Dave Rimington, a two-time consensus All-American center for Nebraska in 1981 and 1982 and is now highlighting BYU center Connor Pay.
Rimington was the only two-time winner of the John Outland Trophy, which is awarded annually to the best interior lineman in college football.
Pay is a sophomore from Highland, Utah. He prepped at Lone Peak High School before joining the Cougars in 2020, following a two-year church mission in Washington D.C. Pay played in all 13 games last season with 10 starts. He was originally the starting right guard for BYU in 2021 before moving over to center when James Empey suffered a season-ending injury, leaving Pay to start at center for the final five games of the season.
Pay was a big part in helping BYU’s offense score on 89% of their red zone trips with 75% being touchdowns. BYU also converted on 46% of their third downs. Pro Football Focus (PFF) and the Rimington Trophy committee narrowed the watch list to 40 players.
Congratulations to our 2022 Rimington Trophy Watchlist! Our committee worked with Pro Football Focus (PFF) to narrow down its list to the top 40 centers.
Presenting the 2022 watchlist: https://t.co/ugVqWIXZBY pic.twitter.com/CvUiw5gQGk
— Rimington Trophy (@rimingtontrophy) July 22, 2022
- Will Putnam, Clemson
- Jakai Clark, Miami
- Grant Gibson, NC State
- Johnny Jordan, Virginia Tech
- Michael Jurgens, Wake Forest
- Jacob Likes, Memphis
- Sincere Haynesworth, Tulane
- Matt Lee, UCF
- Jacob Gall, Baylor
- Trevor Downing, Iowa State
- Mike Novitsky, Kansas
- Preston Wilson, Oklahoma State
- Steve Avila, TCU
- Zach Frazier, West Virginia
- Olu Oluwatimi, Michigan
- John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota
- Luke Wyper Jr., Ohio State
- Juice Scruggs, Penn State
- Gus Hartwig, Purdue
- Joe Tippmann, Wisconsin
- Will Rykard, UAB
- Rusty Staats, WKU
- Connor Pay, BYU
- Jarett Patterson, Notre Dame
- Jacob Gideon, Western Michigan
- Alama Uluave, San Diego State
- Matthew Cindric, California
- Alex Forsyth, Oregon
- Jake Levengood, Oregon State
- Drake Nugent, Stanford
- Brett Neilon, USC
- Ricky Stromberg, Arkansas
- Nick Brahms, Auburn
- Kingsley Eguakun, Florida
- Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia
- LaQuinston Sharp, Mississippi State
- Bryce Foster, Texas A&M
- Willie Lampkin, Coastal Carolina
- Malik Sumter, Georgia State
- Jake Andrews, Troy
