Nugent Honored as Rimington Finalist for Top Center
12/4/2023 11:33:00 AM | Football
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Center Drake Nugent of the University of Michigan football team was announced on Monday (Dec. 4) as one of three finalists for the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding center in FBS football. The other two finalists named along with Nugent are Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson and Georgia's Sedrick Van Pran.
Nugent is the fifth Wolverine to be named a finalist and would be the program's fourth winner, joining Olusegun Oluwatimi (2022), David Baas (2004, co-winner), and David Molk (2011). The winner will be named during ESPN's College Football Home Depot Awards Show on Friday (Dec. 8).
The last school to see two different players recognized as Rimington finalists in consecutive seasons was Alabama, with Bradley Bozeman (2017) and Ross Pierschbacher (2018).
The recognition comes for Nugent on the heels of Michigan's Big Ten Championship Game victory over Iowa last weekend. A first-year Wolverine after joining the program from Stanford, Nugent was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and media as he helped the Wolverines achieve the second 13-0 record in program history.
Nugent has started 13 games this season anchoring the U-M offensive line, named a semifinalist unit for the Joe Moore Award. The Wolverines have multiple rushing touchdowns in 12-of-13 games with Nugent in the lineup and 35 rushing touchdowns total across those 13 games, tied third in the nation. The line supports the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year Blake Corum. Corum is the nation's leading scorer (144 points) and set a single-season rushing touchdowns record at Michigan with his 24 rushing scores this year.
In the pass game, the line has allowed just 1.38 sacks per game across Nugent's 13 games while protecting the Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year J.J. McCarthy, who passed for 19 touchdowns in that span and ran for three more. The line has allowed 3.38 tackles for loss per game, on average.
