| No. 64, 52, 50 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Center | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1960-05-22)May 22, 1960 (age 64) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 288 lb (131 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Omaha (NE) South | ||||||||
| College: | Nebraska (1979–1982) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1983: 1st round, 25th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||
As an administrator: | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
David Brian Rimington (born May 22, 1960) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acenter in theNational Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. Rimington playedcollege football for theUniversity of Nebraska, where he was two-time consensusAll-American and received several awards recognizing him as the best college lineman in the country. He was selected in the first round of the1983 NFL draft and played professionally for theCincinnati Bengals andPhiladelphia Eagles of the NFL. Rimington is the namesake of theRimington Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation's top collegiate center.
Rimington attended theUniversity of Nebraska, where he was a consensus First-teamAll-American in 1981 and 1982.[1][2] In 1981, he was named theUPIBig Eight Player-of-the-Year and theAP Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year, the only time in Big Eight Conference history that alineman was so honored.[3] In 1982, he was the Big Eight (all sports) Athlete of the Year and UPI National Lineman of the year. In 1983 he was anNCAATop Five winner.[4]
Rimington won theOutland Trophy, given to the nation's top interior offensive or defensive lineman, in 1981 and 1982 and is the only two-time winner of the award.[5][6] He also won theLombardi Award in 1982,[7] and placed fifth in the balloting for theHeisman Trophy that same year.[8] He andOrlando Pace are the only three-time winners in the Outland/Lombardi category. Rimington is one of only thirteen players in NCAA history have won both of these awards.
Rimington's #50 jersey was retired by Nebraska in 1982.[9] In 1994, he was named to theFWAA1969-1994 All-America Team, one of just twenty-five athletes named to that team. He was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1997. He was selected to the Nebraska All-Century Football Team via fan poll in 1999, and named to the All-Century Nebraska football team byGannett News Service. In 2002, he was named to the Athlon Sports Nebraska All-Time Team. He was named to theOrange Bowl's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2008.
Rimington was a first-team academic All-American in 1981 and 1982.[10][11] In 2004, he was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame.[12]
In 1999, Rimington was selected as the starting offensive center bySports Illustrated in their "NCAA Football All-Century Team",[13] and was also selected as the starting offensive center to theWalter Camp Football Foundation All Century Team.[14] Rimington is the only center named to both theSports Illustrated and Walter Camp All-Century teams.[13][14]
Rimington was selected in the first round of the1983 NFL draft by theCincinnati Bengals. He played five seasons with the Bengals and two with thePhiladelphia Eagles before retiring at the end of the1989 NFL season.[15]
TheRimington Trophy is named in his honor and since 2000 has been given annually to the nation's top collegiate center. The sculptor of the Rimington Trophy is Marc Mellon, who is also the sculptor of theNBA MVP Trophy.[16]
Following his professional career, Rimington has served with theBoomer Esiason Foundation in their fight againstcystic fibrosis. He has been with the foundation since 1993 and has been president since 1995.[17]
Rimington briefly served as the interim athletic director ofNebraska from September 26, 2017,[18] to October 23, 2017, when the former ADBill Moos was named to the position.[19]
Rimington is a member ofLambda Chi Alpha.[citation needed]