Texas C Zach Shackelford named to Rimington Trophy Watch List

After being named as a First Team All-Big 12 selection in 2018 by the AP and Second Team pick by the coaches, expectations couldn’t be any higher as Zach Shackelford enters his final season on the Forty Acres.

Last week, the Texas Longhorns senior center was dubbed as a Preseason All-Big 12 First Team selection, and now, he’s been named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List, which annually honors the nation’s top center.

A three-year starter in Austin, Shackelford has battled his fair share of minor injuries throughout his tenure at Texas, but has still managed 27 starts in 40 appearances. Along the way, he’s developed as both a player and a leader, and that was most evident as Texas head coach Tom Herman sang Shackelford’s praises during Big 12 Media Days.

“He is a tremendous leader… We’re proud to have him.” Herman said of Shackelford. “We think he’s as good of a center as there is in the country. He’s brilliant when it comes to making the calls. You know the center is kind of the quarterback of the offensive line and he’s really the glue that holds that group together.”

Since the award’s inception in 2000, no Longhorn has ever secured the Rimington Trophy.

Will Shackelford re-write history in 2019?