Coaches may not appreciate when a promising drive ends in a field goal attempt, but the fact is, few players single-handedly hold the fate of their teams as often as college kickers.
When the game is on the line, even the best of kickers have been known to come up short. It takes a special athlete to not only convert kicks regularly but to do so in pressure situations.
That’s what the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s best college kicker, looks for when handing out its honor at the end of the season. Last season, the award was presented to Georgia standout Rodrigo Blankenship following the conclusion of his career in Athens.
On Wednesday, the award announced its 2020 watch list, which included several placekickers from the Southeastern Conference.
Here is a breakdown of every kicker named to the 2020 Lou Groza Award watch list — including the stats put up by the SEC kickers last season. (Note: AJ Reed is a graduate transfer from Duke, he did not kick for Arkansas in 2019)
SEC Players
- Brent Cimaglia – Tennessee (23 of 27 on field goals; 35 of 35 on PATs)
- Evan McPherson – Florida (17 of 19 on field goals; 47 of 48 on PATs)
- AJ Reed – Arkansas (15 of 18 on field goals; 34 of 34 on PATs)
- Parker White – South Carolina (18 of 22 field goals; 25 of 25 PATs)Â
- Cade York – LSU (21 of 27 on field goals; 89 of 93 PATs)Â
National Players
- Matt Araiza – San Diego State
- Gabe Brkic – Oklahoma
- Brian Delaney – Virginia
- Jonathan Doerer – Notre Dame
- Keith Duncan – Iowa
- Christopher Dunn – NC State
- Blake Grupe – Arkansas State
- Blake Haubeil – Ohio State
- Peyton Henry – Washington
- Brian Johnson – Virginia Tech
- Blake Lynch – Kansas State
- John Mayers – Baylor
- Blake Mazza – Washington State
- Matt Mercurio – San Jose State
- Riley Patterson – Memphis
- Jake Pinegar – Penn State
- Jared Sackett – USF
- Nick Sciba – Wake Forest
- Andre Szmyt – Syracuse
- Brandon Talton – Nevada
- Matthew Trickett – Kent State
- Jake Verity – East Carolina
- Dalton Witherspoon – Houston
- Trey Wolff – Texas Tech
- Cristian Zendejas – Arizona State
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
