2004 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker
Award Preseason Watch List

West Palm Beach, FL – Last year’s winner, four past finalists, the sibling of a previous finalist and kickers from some of the top-ranked teams in the nation highlight the 2004 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Preseason Watch List.

The Watch List is comprised of the top 30 preliminary candidates for the 13th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl. The finalists for the award will be honored at a banquet held on Tuesday, December 7, 2004 at the West Palm Beach Marriott. The award will then be presented at the 2004 ESPN Home
Depot College Football Awards Show on Thursday, December 9, 2004 in Orlando.

Among the kickers named to the Lou Groza Award Preseason Watch List are last year’s Lou Groza Award winner, Jonathan Nichols of Ole Miss, and former finalists, Trey DiCarlo of Oklahoma, Mike Nugent of Ohio State and Jared Siegel of Oregon.

Also making the list are the place-kickers from six of the eight teams who played in BCS bowl games last season, including: Xavier Beitia of Florida State, DiCarlo, Ryan Killeen of USC, Nugent, Jon Peattie of Miami and Joe Rheem of Kansas State. Rheem is also the brother of former Groza finalist Jaime Rheem.

A brief biography of each player on the Lou Groza Award Watch List can be found at www.lougrozaaward.com.

The kickers on the Lou Groza Award Watch List were chosen based on statistics from the 2003 season and preseason expectations. However, all Division I-A kickers are eligible for the award.

A panel of nearly 400 experts votes on the award, including Division I-A head coaches, sports writers and sportscasters, conference representatives, professional kickers and all previous Groza Award finalists.

The 20 semi-finalists for the Lou Groza Award will be announced in early November, followed with the naming of the three finalists two weeks later.

The award, now in its 13th 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 also sponsored by BankAtlantic, The Breakers, Clipper Corporate Apparel and Promotions, Continental Airlines, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, ESPN Radio 760, ESPN Regional Television, Florida Coca-Cola Bottling, Palm Beach Kennel Club, The Palm Beach Post, Parallax Productions, Rooney’s Public House, West Palm Beach Marriott and WPEC News Channel 12.

For more information regarding the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, please go to www.lougrozaaward.com, or contact Jennifer Killian at the Palm Beach County Sports Institute at (561) 233-1015.

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