Rimington worthy? One stat makes the case for Iowa's Tyler Linderbaum as nation's best center

Tyler Linderbaum is up for the Rimington Trophy, and one stat believes he is indeed the best center in the country.

The Rimmington Trophy announced Iowa’s Linderbaum as one of three finalists earlier in the week. The other finalists were Ohio State’s Josh Myers and Alabama’s Landon Dickerson.

Rimington Trophy Finalists from @AlabamaFTBL, @HawkeyeFootball, and @OhioStateFB: Landon Dickerson, Tyler Linderbaum, and Josh Myers named the top three Division I collegiate centers in the country https://t.co/nK8hBhftMc pic.twitter.com/FLWItuXCTn

— Rimington Trophy (@rimingtontrophy) December 22, 2020

The Rimington is given annually to the best center in Division I football. The most recent winner from the B1G was Wisconsin’s Tyler Biadasz in 2019.

Recently, Pro Football Focus released their ratings for the top four centers in the nation, and none other than Linderbaum topped the list with a grade of 91.5. However, the race for the Rimington could be razor-thin with Alabama’s Dickerson coming in just percentage points behind Linderbaum at 91.3.

Here is the list from PFF:

Highest-graded centers
1. Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa – 91.5
2. Landon Dickerson, Bama – 91.3
3. Mike Novitsky, Buffalo – 91.2
4. Drake Jackson, UK – 89.5 pic.twitter.com/0neCov9Hns

— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 24, 2020

Linderbaum’s resume is plenty strong with the Hawkeyes being able to complete eight games this season. After an 0-2 start, Iowa finished the season on a six-game tear.

Offensively, Iowa has done most of its work on the ground, averaging 171 yards a game rushing. Along with that, the Hawkeyes have averaged a healthy 4.6 yards per carry in 2020.

Hopefully the strong work of the Hawkeyes pays off for Linderbaum.