On Friday, another award watch list was released — and I’m pretty excited about this one. Notre Dame’s Ashton Craig was named to the Rimington Award watch list as the nation’s best center.
Craig Named to Rimington Trophy Watch List
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Junior offensive lineman Ashton Craig has been selected to the Rimington Trophy Watch List. The award honors the most outstanding center in Division I college football.
Notre Dame has had two finalists for the Rimington Trophy: Jeff Faine (2002) and Braxston Cave (2012).
In 2023, Craig was named to the Associated Press All-Bowl Team for his performance starting at center in the Sun Bowl. Notre Dame’s offensive line group was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, honoring the nation’s top offensive line unit, in both 2023 and 2024.
Craig started the first three games of 2024 at center prior to a season-ending injury. He was part of an offensive line unit that paved the way for Notre Dame’s rushing offense to rank No. 4 among the Power 4 in yards per carry (5.66), ranking No. 7 among all FBS teams. The Irish ranked No. 6 among Power 4 teams in rushing offense (210.8).
With 45 rushing touchdowns, the Irish led all Power 4 teams and ranked third among all FBS programs in rushing touchdowns.
Notre Dame outpaced their opponents’ average yards allowed entering the game in every game of the 2024 season. The Irish rushed for an average of 84.69 yards more than each opponent’s average rushing yards allowed entering the game, while outpacing their average yards-per-carry allowed entering each game by an average of 2.27 yards per carry.
