University of Iowa sophomore Tyler Linderbaum and Iowa State junior Colin Newell have both been named to the Rimington Trophy watch list, announced Wednesday by the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

In its 17th year, the Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the best center in college football. Former Iowa lineman Austin Blythe, currently a member of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, was a finalist for the award in 2015.

Linderbaum (6-foot-3, 289 pounds) started all 13 games at center for the Hawkeyes in 2019, earning honorable mention all-Big Ten Conference honors by the league’s coaches and media. The Solon native is a preseason second-team All-American by The Associated Press, and a third-team pick by Phil Steele and Athlon Sports.

Linderbaum is also a member of Iowa’s 2020 Leadership Group.

Newell (6-4, 304), an Ames native, took over as Iowa State’s starting center in his freshman season of 2018. He now has 18 career starts for the Cyclones despite being limited to two starts in 2019 because of injury.

The center with the most first-team votes on three All-America teams (Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News, and Football Writers Association of America) will determine the winner of the Rimington Trophy. The award is named after two-time Nebraska All-America and College Football Hall of Fame center Dave Rimington, who is the only college football player to win the Outland Trophy (best offensive lineman) twice.