Virginia center Drake Metcalf earned a midseason boost Thursday, landing on the Rimington Trophy Watch List as one of eight additions recognized by the award committee.
The Rimington Trophy is given each year to the top center in NCAA Division I college football, with nominees selected from schools on the basis of in-season merit and data supplied by Pro Football Focus. The latest group of additions also includes Gage Schmidt of North Dakota State, Trent Fraley of Michigan State, Stewart Taufa of Boise State, Ryan Rodriguez of Miami (FL), Taran Tyo of Cincinnati, Greg Johnson of Minnesota and Racin Delgatty of Alabama.
Metcalf has been a steady presence in the middle for Virginia, starting all six games at center this season. Going back to 2025, he has 20 straight starts along the Cavaliers’ offensive line, a stretch that has helped power a 15-5 record for Virginia. That run includes the program’s first ACC Championship game appearance since 2019 and a win in the 2025 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
Virginia’s offense has found a groove with Metcalf anchoring the line. The Cavaliers are averaging 32.8 points per game and 380.3 yards of total offense, and they’ve won four of their first six games for the third straight year.
Up front, Metcalf and the UVA line helped clear the way for 258 rushing yards against NC State in week 0, highlighted by a historic 23-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 12:15. He also posted the highest overall grade among FBS centers, an 88.4, in week two against Norfolk State, according to Pro Football Focus.
His 87.7 run-block grade was nearly six points better than any other center in the country. Metcalf then helped protect a passing attack that produced UVA’s first 400-yard passing game since the 2021 season, as the Cavaliers rolled up 437 yards in a 42-3 victory over Delaware on Sept.
The Rimington Trophy is named for Dave Rimington, a consensus first-team All-America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982. He is also the only two-time winner of the John Outland Trophy, which honors the nation’s best college interior lineman. The award has raised more than $5 million for the Boomer Esiason Foundation since its creation.
Boomer Esiason’s son, Gunnar, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 1993, and Boomer and his wife Cheryl later founded the Boomer Esiason Foundation to support the cystic fibrosis community. To date, the foundation has raised over $180 million and provides educational and financial resources for people living with CF.
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Virginia Faces A Realignment Choice That Could Redefine Everything
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For Virginia, the questions go well beyond football. Any move would carry major implications for rivalries, travel and the balance of the schools entire athletic department, from basketball to Olympic sports. The backdrop only gets messier with some ACC schools already pushing back on legislation that could make conference changes easier, while the leagues past legal fights still hang over every new rumor. [Read more 🡒]