HUNTINGTON, W.Va.— Center Chris Jasperse has been the anchor of the Thundering Herd’s offensive line since he arrived on campus four years ago. Monday, he was named to the preseason Rimington Trophy Watch List.
The Rimington Trophy is presented each year to the country’s top center.
Jasperse has started all 39 games of his career since joining Marshall as a walk-on. Last season he barely came off the field in Marshall’s 14 games, playing a team-high 1,067 snaps. Jasperse was credited with 79 knockdown and allowed just one sack.
Marshall’s 7,005 yards last season — in which was Jasperse played a major role as an all-conference first team selection by the league’s coaches — was the best for a Herd team in major college football, and the third time a team has topped 7,000. The others were 7,287 in 1996 and 7,129 in 1992.
The Herd’s 500.4-yard average in 2013 trailed only the 2012 team (534.2), and a 516.0 yards-per-game average over the two-year span is the best in MU history.
Marshall finished with 2,883 rushing yards (205.9 per game), the first time as an FBS team the Herd has topped 200 per game and the best since the final Division I-AA team in 1996 averaged 226.3.
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 $2.5 million for the cystic fibrosis community. The 14-year-old award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis, and has raised more than $100 million for CF Research.