West Virginia center Joe Madsen is among the 51 student-athletes across the nation to be named to the Rimington Trophy Preseason Watch List.

The Rimington Trophy awards the best center in the nation.

The list includes 21 returning players from the 2011 Watch List. In all, there are 51 players on the Watch List. The SEC leads the way with ten players. The Big Ten follows with six players, while the ACC, Mountain West Conference, and PAC-12 check in with five players each. There are two graduate students and eight sophomores on the Watch List.

While more than a dozen All-America football teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these four prestigious teams to determine a winner:

* American Football Coaches Association
* Walter Camp Foundation
* Sporting News
* Football Writers Association of America

Because the selectors of these four 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 C enters. Our policy is to count all players that play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, even though they maybe listed as guards or tackles on the four 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 most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by the Rimington Trophy committee.

The winner will be honored at Rimington Trophy Presentation banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska on January 12, 2013.

A complete Rimington Trophy Preseason Watch List can be accessed HERE.