Lindenwood's Jeff Hynes was recently named the NAIA's 2009 winner of the Rimington Award. Hynes is the first NAIA player to receive that honor for back-to-back seasons.

Hynes, who finished his playing career with Lindenwood after the 2009 season, was a first-team All-American last year by both the NAIA and the Victory Sports Network, and was a first-team all-conference selection for the third time. He was also named to the NAIA All-Decade second-team.

Hynes anchored the offensive line for the highest scoring team in the NAIA. He helped the Lions average 53.1 points and 492.4 yards of offense a game. The Lindenwood offense line last year allowed less than two sacks a game and opened up holes for a running game that averaged nearly 200 yards a game.

Hynes was a big reason why Lindenwood won the 2009 HAAC Championship and advanced to the NAIA National Championship game.

The Rimington Award is given each year to the top offensive center at each level of college football. The award is sponsored by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which the former NFL quarterback founded in 1993 to raise research funds for the fight against cystic fibrosis. The award is named after a former teammate of Esiason on the Cincinnati Bengals, Dave Rimington. Rimington was an All-American center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982 and the only double winner of the John Outland Trophy as the NCAA's Best Interior Lineman.