Texas Tech senior offensive lineman Rusty Staats was named to the 2023 Rimington Trophy preseason watch list, the organization announced.

The annual award is presented to the nation's premier center by the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

This year, the Trophy committee worked with Pro Football Focus (PFF) to narrow down its list to the top 40 centers. 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.

Staats transferred to Texas Tech from Western Kentucky following the 2022 season after starting in all 14 games for the Hilltoppers. According to PFF, Staats allowed only one sack over 651 opportunities. He was tabbed an honorable mention All-Conference USA after the season – his second such honor of his WKU career. Staats appeared in 45 games with 27 starts over his career.