WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — UTSA freshman Jared Sackett has been named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Thursday.
Sackett is one of 20 semifinalists for the award presented annually to the nation's top place-kicker. The Fort Worth native is 12-for-13 on field-goal attempts, including 4-of-5 from 40 yards or longer, in his debut season. He leads Conference USA in field-goal percentage (.923) and field goals per game (2.0), marks that rank second and third, respectively, among all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players.
Sackett, who did not kick in the season opener at Baylor, drilled his first collegiate attempt from 28 yards out in the 51-17 win against Southern on Sept. 16. He was good from 21, 27 and 43 yards in the 44-14 triumph over Texas State and he split the uprights on all three attempts against Southern Miss, including a season long of 44, which is the ninth-longest field goal in program history. He was 2-of-3 at North Texas with his first miss of the year sailing just wide left from 46 yards out as time expired in the first half. He made both attempts in the 20-7 victory over Rice and his only try from 20 yards in the road win at UTEP.
Sackett also has made 21 PATs to give him a team-high 57 points on the year. He is second in C-USA and 11th in the FBS with 9.5 points per game.
Other semifinalists include Michael Badgley (Miami), Rodrigo Blankenship (Georgia), Wyatt Bryan (Colorado State), Daniel Carlson (Auburn), Bryce Crawford (San Jose State), Blanton Creque (Louisville), Dominik Eberle (Utah State), Matt Gay (Utah), Greg Joseph (Florida Atlantic), Daniel LaCamera (Texas A&M), Matthew McCrane (Kansas State), Cole Murphy (Syracuse), Quinn Nordin (Michigan), Griffin Oakes (Indiana), Erik Powell (Washington State), Canon Rooker (Middle Tennessee), James Stefanou (Colorado), Jet Toner (Stanford) and Jameson Vest (Toledo).
Semifinalists will be voted on by a panel of more than 100 FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists and current NFL kickers to select the three finalists. These finalists will be announced on Nov. 21 and honored at the 26thannual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 4 in Palm Beach County. The same panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 7.
The Award is named for National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou "The Toe" 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. Although an All-Pro offensive lineman as well, Groza ushered in the notion that there should be a place on an NFL roster for a kicker.
Since the first Lou Groza Award was handed out in 1992, 25 finalists, including 14 winners, have gone on to appear in the NFL, earning nine trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home five Super Bowls. That list includes 2017 NFL kickers Dan Bailey, Randy Bullock, Mason Crosby, Jake Elliott, Ka'imi Fairbairn, Kai Forbath, Graham Gano, Zane Gonzalez, Dustin Hopkins, Younghoe Koo, Mike Nugent, Cairo Santos, Caleb Sturgis and Blair Walsh.
For more information regarding the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, please visit LouGrozaAward.com, or follow @LouGrozaAward on Twitter for updates as they happen.
National College Football Awards Association
The Lou Groza Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 22 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.
About the Palm Beach County Sports Commission
The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is a private, not-for-profit organization contracted by Palm Beach County to promote and market the County as a sports and sports tourism destination. The Commission brings sporting events and activities to the County, enhances economic impact, stimulates bed tax revenues (primarily in the off-season), and maximizes utilization of County facilities. The Commission offers a full range of event service support, corporate partnerships, sponsorships and a local membership program that support its goals. Local, regional, national and international marketing efforts are ongoing by the Commission with sports organizations and event owners. The Commission also produces sports-related programs for the residents of Palm Beach County including the annual Lou Groza Award program, the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame and the Kids Fitness Festival of the Palm Beaches. For more information on the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, go to www.palmbeachsports.com.
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