(story courtesy of Hardin-Simmons Sports Information)

NEW YORK -  The awards continue to roll in for Vic Rodriguez, a senior captain of the Hardin-Simmons football team, as he was named the 2017 Rimington Award winner as the top center in Division III.

The senior from Mesquite is the second Hardin-Simmons recipient of the award and third from the American Southwest Conference, joining fellow Cowboy Josh Knox in 2006 and Matt Bush of Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2004. Rodriguez was named the ASC Offensive Lineman of the Year and was named to the American Football Coaches Association All-American Team.

He joins NAIA winner Xavier Carter of Reinhardt (Ga.) University, Division II winner Taylor Nikithser of California University (Pa.), Football Championship Series winner Jacob Ohnesorge of South Dakota State and Division I winner Billy Price of Ohio State.

The award winners are selected by Jason Dannelly, coordinator of the Rimington Award and longtime writer of college football in non-FBS divisions as part of the continued tradition of one of College Football’s most prestigious awards. Dannelly was the founder of the Victory Sports Network and is a member of the Football Writers Association.

The 2017 Rimington Trophy presentation banquet will be held January 13, 2017, at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Neb.  The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the Most Outstanding Center in all divisions of College Football.