Iapani Laloulu earns honor as finalist for Rimington Trophy

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In the same week that Oregon Ducks center Iapani Laloulu was selected to the All-Big Ten offense’s second team, he’s also been named a finalist for the most prestigious award at the center position in college football: the Rimington Trophy.

Duck fans may remember that the center before Laloulu was pretty good as well, as Jackson Powers-Johnson claimed the Rimington Trophy in 2023 before being selected in the second round of the 2024 draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.

Now, it’s Laloulu’s turn to be up for the award after a season in which the Ducks ran for the 14th-most rushing yards per game and allowed quarterback Dante Moore to be sacked just 14 times, the 16th-lowest mark in the country.

Looking solely at Laloulu’s performance in 2025, he’s allowed just one sack and 18 pressures on 333 pass blocking opportunities.

The Ducks‘ offensive line was named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award for the fourth straight season, given to the nation’s best offensive line. As the center, Laloulu is the conductor of the whole show, leading the group each and every week.

The Hawai’i native has battled injuries of late, including having to miss the entire second half against the USC Trojans. He fought through the foot injury to play against the Washington Huskies in the season-finale, though Oregon rushed for just 106 yards with Laloulu not at full strength — showing his importance on the line.

With roughly three weeks off between the season-finale and the first round of the College Football Playoff, Laloulu should have enough time to recover and be at or near full strength. His presence on the interior is invaluable, something that should be taken into consideration in the Rimington Trophy race.

The other finalists include Iowa’s Logan Jones and Florida’s Jake Slaughter, with the winner being announced on Friday, Dec. 12 during the ESPN College Football Awards show.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Iapani Laloulu named finalist for Rimington Trophy

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