Alabama football has another veteran player on a preseason watch list for fall camp.
Seth McLaughlin, a senior offensive lineman, has been named a candidate for the Rimington Trophy. The honor goes to the most outstanding center in college football and is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation for the fight against cystic fibrosis.
Rimington Trophy ▶️ Best Center in College Football @seth_mc24 pic.twitter.com/VtEVLPH4Uu
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) August 4, 2023
Alabama’s had three centers earn the Rimington Trophy — Barrett Jones, Ryan Kelly, and Landon Dickerson — since 2000.
RELATED: Seth McLaughlin is Alabama’s most important offensive lineman and here’s why
Jones anchored the Crimson Tide’s offensive front to a BCS National Championship in 2012 while helping Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon rush for over 1,000 yards. Kelly cleared the way for Derrick Henry to become Alabama’s second Heisman-winning running back and guided the Tide to a College Football Playoff National Championship in 2015. Dickerson pushed the Tide to assisting DeVonta Smith to become the program’s first Heisman Trophy winner at wide receiver in 2020.
He also paced Alabama to a CFP National Championship. McLaughlin, a former three-star in the 2020 signing class, has 22 games of experience — including 11 starts at center. The 6-foot-4, 301-pounder got 1,214 snaps as the Tide’s center in the last two seasons, allowing Brian Robinson to be a 1,000+ yard (1,343) running back in 2021 and pacing Bryce Young to have back-to-back 3,000-yard passing seasons. McLaughlin brings a toughness to the offensive line that Nick Saban loves and Tide fans are ready.
RELATED: Seth McLaughlin is making it difficult for Nick Saban to remove him from the starting center position
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
