ALLEGRETTI NAMED TO RIMINGTON TROPHY SPRING WATCH LIST
Illini junior up for award that honors top center in Division I football
Illinois rising junior center Nick Allegretti was named one of 63 preseason candidates for the 2017 Rimington Trophy on Monday, which is presented annually to the nation's top Division I center.
Allegretti was ranked as the No. 8 center in the nation coming out of high school by Rivals and Scout, but has played a majority of his Illini career at guard alongside three-year starting center Joe Spencer. After redshirting the 2014 season, Allegretti saw action in 11 games in 2015 before moving into a starting role for all 12 games in 2016. The Frankfort, Ill., native, started at center in the season-opening win over Murray State with Spencer out due to injury, but then spent rest of the season at guard. With Spencer graduating, Allegretti is projected to start at center and be one of the team leaders for the Orange and Blue in 2017.
Off the field, Allegretti is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and is very active in the community, particularly with the Tom Jones Challenger Softball League and with the Illinois chapter of Uplifting Athletes.
The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA Division I-A College Football. The award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised over $2.6 million for the cystic fibrosis community.
Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's finest college interior lineman.
For more on the Rimington Trophy and a list of past recipients, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com.
Illini junior up for award that honors top center in Division I football
Illinois rising junior center Nick Allegretti was named one of 63 preseason candidates for the 2017 Rimington Trophy on Monday, which is presented annually to the nation's top Division I center.
Allegretti was ranked as the No. 8 center in the nation coming out of high school by Rivals and Scout, but has played a majority of his Illini career at guard alongside three-year starting center Joe Spencer. After redshirting the 2014 season, Allegretti saw action in 11 games in 2015 before moving into a starting role for all 12 games in 2016. The Frankfort, Ill., native, started at center in the season-opening win over Murray State with Spencer out due to injury, but then spent rest of the season at guard. With Spencer graduating, Allegretti is projected to start at center and be one of the team leaders for the Orange and Blue in 2017.
Off the field, Allegretti is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and is very active in the community, particularly with the Tom Jones Challenger Softball League and with the Illinois chapter of Uplifting Athletes.
The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA Division I-A College Football. The award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised over $2.6 million for the cystic fibrosis community.
Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's finest college interior lineman.
For more on the Rimington Trophy and a list of past recipients, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com.
