Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin named Rimington Trophy finalist
COLUMBUS — Seth McLaughlin played his last down for Ohio State in the win at Northwestern on Nov. 16, but it seems the graduate senior is far from forgotten.
McLaughlin, despite having his season cut short by an achilles tendon tear suffered practice the week of the Indiana game, was named one of three finalists for the Rimington Trophy on Monday. He joins Cooper Mays of Tennessee, whom the Buckeyes host Dec. 21 in the College Football Playoff first round, and Jacob Gideon of Western Michigan in the final running for the most outstanding center in college football.
The Rimington Trophy committee uses a composite of three major All-America teams — The Walter Camp, The Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America — to determine the winner. As the committee posted in its press release about the three finalists:
“The center with the most first team votes will be determined the winner. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with the most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy Committee, provided with data from Pro Football Focus.”
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That Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin is still in the running despite the injury clearly speaks to the impact he had through 10 games with the Buckeyes. It also takes into account the reputation he gained through two previous seasons of starting for Alabama before opting to transfer in January to Ohio State.
As for his plaudits, the Rimington committee pointed out those also in the release:
“First-team all-Big Ten Conference center Seth McLaughlin graded out as a “champion” in all 10 of his starts for Ohio State this season and was a mid-season All-American on six media organization lists before suffering an Achilles injury that ended his season. He did not allow a sack across 207 pass blocking snaps and allowed only four pressures all season, according to Pro Football Focus. As a unit, Ohio State ranks No. 4 nationally with just 42.0 tackles for loss allowed and 16th nationally in fewest QB sacks allowed with 13. McLaughlin, a 34-game starter at center for Ohio State and Alabama, is a finalist for the Campbell Trophy, which honors America’s top student-athlete, and already has two degrees (finance and a master’s in sports hospitality management) and a perfect, 4.00 undergraduate GPA.”
Despite the injury, McLaughlin returned the next day, pushing a scooter with his non-injured leg, to help coach the Ohio State line which due to injuries has undergone several iterations this season.
