NEW YORK CITY (SMU) – SMU center Joshua Bates has been added to the 2025 Rimington Trophy Midseason Watch List, the organization announced in a release on Thursday.

The Trophy committee worked with Pro Football Focus (PFF) to narrow down its list to the top 40 centers to start the season and made additions midway through the year. PFF grades every player on every play of every game on how well they execute their given assignment. That play-by-play grading allowed the Trophy committee to create a watch list based both on nominations from the schools and data provided by PFF.

The Colorado native made an immediate impact on the offensive line this season after transferring from the University of Oklahoma. Bates has started in every single game this season, helping lead SMU to a 4-1 conference record, including the most recent victory over No. 10 Miami on Nov. 1. The center helped pave the way for T.J. Harden's game-winning, rushing touchdown in overtime.

With Bates' aid, the Mustang passing offense currently ranks 23rd nationally, placing fourth in the ACC for total passing yards with 2,493 and seventh in total offensive yards with 3,492.

While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these three prestigious teams to determine a winner: Walter Camp Foundation (WCF), Sporting News (SN), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

The center with the most first team votes will be determined the winner. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with the most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy Committee, provided with data from Pro Football Focus.

Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy's only two-time winner as the nation's finest college interior lineman.