Pete Nygra Named To Rimington Award Watch List

Mark BlankenbakerAugust 10, 2025

University of Louisville center Pete Nygra was named to 2025 Rimington Trophy Watchlist.

This year, the Trophy committee worked with Pro Football Focus (PFF) to narrow down its list to the top 40 centers. PFF grades every player on every play of every game on how well they execute their given assignment. That play-by-play grading allowed the Trophy committee to create a watchlist based both on nominations from the schools and data provided by PFF. Once the season begins, schools will be able to nominate their centers for late addition based on in-season merit.

A transfer from Northern Illinois, Nygra was one of two offensive linemen on the team to start all 13 games for the Cardinals. He helped lead the Cardinals’ offense to average 36.5 points per game and helped the unit average 449.2 yards per game. The Indianapolis, Ind., native played 848 snaps and was graded as the No. 47 running blocking center in the country.

Because the selectors of these three All-America teams can place centers in a “mix” of offensive linemen that includes guards and tackles, their 11-man first teams can often have two centers. The Rimington Trophy committee’s policy is to count all players that play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, even though they may be listed as guards or tackles on the All- America teams.

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.