Jones Takes Award As Best Center

One way to make a nice living would be to get the contract as trophy case carpenter for Barrett Jones. The Alabama senior is accepting awards with great frequency these days. The latest is the Rimington Trophy, presented to the nation's best center.

Barrett Jones has been racking up the frequent flyer miles as he goes from college football award to college football award. On Thursday night he was in Orlando, Fla., where he was presented with the Rimington Trophy as the nation's best center.

Jones, winner of the Outland Award last year as the nation's best lineman, had a difficult assignment in his senior year. After starting at right guard in 2009 and 2010, Jones moved to the difficult left tackle position in 2011. Then this season he took over the center spot.

He acknowledged that it was a tough task.

“I am truly honored to be recognized as the winner of the Rimington Trophy,” said Jones. “The job of learning the center position as a senior has been one of the most difficult challenges of my career, but also one of the most enjoyable and rewarding. With that said, this award would not have been possible without my teammates, coaches and specifically the rest of our offensive line.”

He was presented the Rimington Trophy during the Red Carpet Show prior to the Home Depot College Awards Show on ESPNU. Jones is the first Crimson Tide player to capture the Rimington Trophy. He was the third Alabama student-athlete to be selected as a finalist, joining Antoine Caldwell (2008) and William Vlachos (2011).

Jones, from Germantown, Tenn., is the first four-time Academic All-American in the history of Alabama football and the 2012 Capital One Academic All-American of the Year. The 2011 and 2012 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, he carries a 4.0 GPA, has already received his degree in accounting and will complete his masters in accountancy next week. He has started on two national championship teams at Alabama and will help lead the Crimson Tide against Notre Dame on Jan. 7 in the BCS National Championship Game.

Jones was a unanimous first-team All-America performer as a junior en route to winning the Outland Trophy and the recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the SEC's Lineman of the Year. He is a first-team All-American again in 2012 and has started 49 games at Alabama at three different positions along the offensive line, including right guard, left tackle and center. He is a two-time first-team All-SEC honoree, who earned third-team All-America honors as a sophomore and Freshman All-America accolades in 2009.

“From day one, Barrett Jones has been an indispensable part of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s offensive line,” said Dave Rimintgon, president of the Boomer Esiason Foundation. “He has enjoyed outstanding success on the playing field and in the classroom. We are extremely proud to name him the winner of the 2012 Rimington Trophy. Congratulations to Barrett and all of the watch list candidates and finalists.”