Courtesy of the Lou Groza Award
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The 18th annual quest to name the finest place kicker in college football’s FBS division (Division1-A) begins as the Palm Beach County Sports Commission unveils its pre-season watch list of thirty. Headlining the group are 2008 finalist Josh Arauco of Arkansas State and 2007 Lou Groza Award recipient Thomas Weber of Arizona State.
Nine 2008 semi-finalists are named to the list including seniors, Arauco, Leigh Tiffin of Alabama, Sam Glusman of Troy State and Jonathan Phillips of Florida. Eighteen of the kickers listed are under classmen. The SEC is the most recognized conference with five members included. The Big Ten and Big Twelve each placed four kickers on the list.
More than three hundred media representatives, coaches, past recipients, conference and university officials make up the voting panel which selects the recipient of the Lou Groza Collegiate Place Kicking Award. The Award will be presented on Dec. 10, 2009, as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards program. The three finalists will be honored at the 18th annual Lou Groza Award Banquet to be held at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday Dec. 8.
For more information on the Lou Groza Award and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission visit www.lougrozaaward.com.
Lou Groza Award Watch List
Josh Arauco, Arkansas State
James Aho, New Mexico
Matt Bosher, Miami
Kyle Brotzman, Boise State
Josh Czajkowski, N.C. State
Ross Evans, TCU
Clark Fangmeier, Rice
Kai Forbath, UCLA
Sam Glusman, Troy
Kevin Goessling, Fresno State
Ben Hartman, East Carolina
Alex Henery, Nebraska
Hunter Lawrence, Texas
Daniel Lincoln, Tennessee
Nick Maggio, Duke
Aaron Pettrey, Ohio State
Jonathan Phillips, Florida
Jake Rogers, Cincinnati
Mike Salerno, Northern Illinois
Joshua Shene, Mississippi
Alex Steigerwald, Toledo
Jimmy Stevens, Oklahoma
Brett Swenson, Michigan State
Dave Teggart, UConn
Leigh Tiffin, Alabama
Brandon Walker, Notre Dame
Blair Walsh, Georgia
Thomas Weber, Arizona State
Philip Welch, Wisconsin
Carson Wiggs, Purdue