LOU GROZA COLLEGIATE
PLACE-KICKER AWARD ANNOUNCES THE
2003 SEMIFINALIST LIST
West Palm Beach, FL - The Palm
Beach County Sports Commission is pleased to announce
the 20 semifinalists for the 2003
Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award. The award,
which is presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl,
will be given out during a ceremony on Tuesday,
December 9, at the Palm
Beach Gardens Marriott in Palm Beach Gardens,
FL.
Among the 20 semifinalists is the 2002 Lou
Groza Award winner Nate Kaeding from the University of Iowa,
who has yet to miss a field goal this season. Also making
the cut are the place-kickers from some of the top ranked
teams in the nation, including: Trey Dicarlo of Oklahoma,
Ryan Killeen of Southern Cal, Xavier Beitia of Florida State,
Jon Peattie of Miami and Nick Browne from undefeated TCU.
For a complete list of semifinalists with
biographies and statistics, click here.
All Division I-A kickers are eligible for
consideration for the Award. Voters for the award include
Division I-A head coaches, sports writers and sportscasters,
conference representatives, professional kickers, and previous
Groza Award finalists. The three finalists for the Lou Groza
Award will be announced on November 17.
The award, now in its 12th year, is named for NFL Hall-of-Fame
kicker Lou Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland
Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland
and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Nicknamed
"The Toe," Groza was one of the first people to
truly make kicking an art form, and he helped usher in to
football the idea that a player could be used exclusively
for kicking.
The Lou Groza Award is presented by the FedEx
Orange Bowl. Other sponsors include: Aim Riverside Press,
BankAtlantic, Continental Airlines, ESPN, ESPN Radio 760,
Florida Coca-Cola Bottling, JBS Destination Solutions, Palm
Beach Kennel Club, Parallax Productions, Rooney's Public
House, The Breakers, The Palm Beach Post, Palm Beach Gardens
Marriott and WPEC News 12.
For kicker's bio and statistical information,
click here.
NAME |
SCHOOL |
CLASS |
| Steve Azar |
Northern Illinois |
Sr. |
| Xavier Beitia |
Florida State |
Jr. |
| Nick Browne |
TCU |
Sr. |
| Trey DiCarlo |
Oklahoma |
So. |
| Drew Dunning |
Washington State |
Sr. |
| Connor Hughes |
Virginia |
So. |
| Ben Jones |
Purdue |
So. |
| Nate Kaeding |
Iowa |
Sr. |
| Ryan Killeen |
Southern Cal |
Jr. |
| Matt Leach |
Florida |
Jr. |
| J.C. Mejia |
San Diego State |
Sr. |
| Jonanthan Nichols |
Mississippi |
Jr. |
| Nick Novak |
Maryland |
Jr. |
| Matt Payne |
BYU |
Jr. |
| Jon Peattie |
Miami (Fla.) |
Fr. |
| Dillon Pieffer |
UNLV |
Sr. |
| David Rayner |
Michigan State |
Jr. |
| Nate Smith |
Louisville |
Sr. |
| Andrew Wellock |
Eastern Michigan |
Fr. |
| Kirk Yliniemi |
Oregon State |
Sr. |
|
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