Grant Gibson on Rimington Trophy Watch List
NC State has earned a reputation for producing standout quarterbacks and defensive linemen.
But it also has a tradition of award winning centers.
Jim Ritcher, a member of the Wolfpack's Athletic Hall of Fame, was the Outland Trophy winner in 1979 as the best lineman in college football. In 2018, Garrett Bradbury -- who went on to become the first round NFL draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings -- won the Rimington Trophy as the nation's best center.
Thursday, State's current center Grant Gibson took the first step toward joining that prestigious duo by being named to the Rimington Trophy watch list for 2020.
Although most of the other positional awards issued their watch lists before the season began, the Rimington Trophy chose to wait until now because of the pandemic and the continued uncertainty it has brought about.
In a statement announcing the award candidates, the Rimington Trophy committee indicated that its goal is to highlight every center that "made the commitment to play during this time, demonstrating leadership and determination, qualities all greats possess."
Gibson, a 6-foot-1, 300-pound junior from Charlotte, has emerged as the leader of State's offensive line.
A converted defensive lineman who switched sides of the ball early in his redshirt freshman year, he was the only player on the Wolfpack's offense to start all 12 games last season.
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