Jake Bennett added to watch list for nation's most outstanding center

Jake Bennett has been added to the Rimington Trophy 2016 Spring Watch List, Colorado State announced Tuesday. The annual award is presented to college football’s most outstanding center and is one of the most prestigious awards given to offensive lineman.

Bennett is one of five Mountain West centers and 57 nationally named to the Spring watch list and the first Ram to be added to a preseason watch list for a national award this year. The junior out of Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, CO. started all 13 games in 2015 and is widely known as one of the leaders of the locker room.

Congratulations to Jake Bennett, a member of the @rimingtontrophy 2016 Spring Watch List! https://t.co/HhlvWM2KkR pic.twitter.com/GFJL9SIxWj

— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) May 17, 2016

After redshirting in 2013 behind Weston Richburg, a two-time Rimington Trophy Spring watch list member and current New York Giants starting  center, Bennett started the first three games of the 2014 season, before injuring his knee and missing the rest of the year.

Since returning from injury, he has been one of the key pieces of a talented and successful offensive line. In 2015, the Rams put up 417 yards per game, the third-highest total in the conference. The Rams’ total of 4.62 tackles for loss per game ranked 11th nationally, and it is a big reason CSU was able to win seven games with a first-year head coach (Mike Bobo) and starting quarterback (Nick Stevens).

It is no surprise Bennett is a candidate for the prestigious award, considering he is one of the better offensive lineman in the conference and was consistently praised by the coaching staff throughout spring ball.

CSU has historically produced quality offensive lineman and have sent multiple guys to the next level, including Richburg, Shelley Smith, Ty Sambrailo and most recently Sam Carlson. Bennett could be the next great offensive lineman for CSU and he is starting to get the attention he deserves on both a local and national scale.

The Rimington Trophy will be presented Jan. 14, 2017 at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Neb. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised more than $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.