May 21, 2013
Georgia Tech senior center Jay Finch, who closed the 2012 season on a positive note, begins the 2013 season on the preseason watch list for the nation’s top center.
Finch was one of 44 players named to the Rimington Trophy’s preseason watch list Tuesday morning — the second straight year the Yellow Jacket senior has been on the list.
The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA Division I-A College Football. Since its inception, the Rimington Trophy has raised over $2 million for the cystic fibrosis community. The fourteen-year old award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and has raised nearly $100 million for CF Research.
Finch, an honorable mention All-ACC selection in 2012, finished the calendar year on a high note. He was named Most Valuable Lineman in Tech’s 21-7 win over Southern California in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. That honor came on the heels of Tech ranking in the top five nationally in rushing for the fifth straight year.
Finch had surgery early in 2013 and was sidelined during all of spring practice to recover. The Acworth (Ga.) native hopes to be close to 100 percent when drills resume in August.
Finch is one of 15 seniors on the 44-man preseason watch list. He is one of five candidates representing the ACC, joining North Carolina’s Russell Bodine, Syracuse’s Macky MacPherson, Miami’s Shane McDermott and Florida State’s Bryan Stork.
