New York, N.Y.----- San Jose State University football senior Kyle Hoppe is one of more than 80 candidates named to the 2020 Rimington Trophy watch list honoring the top center in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
Hoppe returns for the 2020 season as a two-season starter at center for the Spartans. In 2019, the fifth-year senior started in all 12 games for an offense that finished fourth nationally in passing averaging 338.0 yards per game. The passing game's success was predicated on superb pass protection with Hoppe in the middle of the action. San Jose State yielded only 14 quarterback sacks, a ratio of one sack for every 35.6 pass attempts. The Spartans were ninth nationally in fewest sacks allowed regardless of the number of pass attempts.
The communication studies major from Temecula, Calif., joined the Spartans in 2016 and redshirted the season. As a redshirt freshman, he saw most of his action as a reserve on a depleted defensive line. In 2018, Hoppe returned to his preferred position of center, moved into the starting lineup midway through the season, and has been a fixture ever since.
The Rimington Trophy is named in honor of former University of Nebraska center Dave Rimington, a consensus All-America during his college career covering the 1979 through 1982 seasons. The trophy was first awarded in 2000.
