Oregon football’s Jackson Powers-Johnson becomes first Duck center to win Rimington Trophy
In the Oregon football program’s storied history, no lineman had ever won the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the nation’s best center.
Not until Friday, that is.
First-year starter and center Jackson Powers-Johnson became the first Duck to win the award Friday at the College Football Awards show. The All-American leads all FBS centers in PFF pass-blocking grade (91.3), run-blocking grade (84.2), and overall grade (83.9). He was a two-time Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week and was a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy – awarded to the nation’s best lineman.
“We are very proud of Jackson for earning this outstanding honor as the best center in college football,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “This is something he has put a tremendous amount of effort towards, and combined with his special talents, the results speak for themselves. Jackson has done a terrific job for us this season, both on the field and as a leader within our program. He has grown so much as both a player and a person."
The center piloted a new-look offensive line to similar levels of success that Duck fans are used to up front, and earned first team All-America honors from CBS, 247 Sports, The Athletic, PFF and USA Today.
Powers-Johnson joined Hroniss Grasu (2013, 2014) and Max Unger (2008) as finalists for the award, and under his leadership helped the line become finalists for the Joe Moore award – given to the nation’s best offensive line.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon football's Jackson Powers-Johnson wins Rimington Trophy
