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Lou Groza Award (1 Viewer)

M

Mike Herman

Footballguy
It's that time of year again... the semifinalists for the 2006 Lou Groza Award are:

Kenny Byrd, New Mexico

Arthur Carmody, Louisville

Gary Cismesia, Florida State

Mason Crosby, Colorado

Garrett Hartley, Oklahoma

Jeremy Ito, Rutgers

Brian Jackson, Ball State

Justin Medlock, UCLA

Taylor Mehlhaff, Wisconsin

Brandon Pace, Virginia Tech

Garrett Rivas, Michigan

Reagan Schneider, UTEP

Alexis Serna, Oregon State

Patrick Shadle, Syracuse

Ryan Succop, South Carolina

Sam Swank, Wake Forest

John Vaughn, Auburn

Andrew Wellock, Eastern Michigan

James Wilhoit, Tennessee

Jeff Wolfert, Missouri

linkage

EDIT: finalists in bold

 
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Jeff Wolfert, Missouri
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This kid has a good story, he is a former collegiate diver that walked on and beat out the starter from last year.He is pretty much money from inside 40 and hit a 54 yarder against Nebraska last weekend.
 
Mike...I appreciate all your info on kickers. Just one question: Could you post the stats on these guys? Why are they worthy of the award?

If not, no prob...I can look it up for next years draft.

Thanks!

 
Ask Bobby Bowden about place-kickers and you’re sure to get a grimace and a sigh. While Florida State has produced solid kickers in the past, the conversation inevitably drifts to the many misses that have plagued the Seminoles in big games. Prior to this season, Bowden said Gary Cismesia needed to prove he still was worthy of the starting job. The longtime FSU coach noted that the position warranted stability, which was lacking in recent years. After making 17 of 24 attempts in an inconsistent 2005 season, Cismesia played himself into in a preseason battle with heavy-footed Graham Gano. Eight games into this season, Cismesia is giving Bowden other things to worry about than kickers.

Cismesia this week was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s top kicker. Prior to Saturday, Cismesia was 10 of 12 on field goals, one of those misses was blocked against Maryland, and he was good on 24 of 25 extra points. For his career, he is 34 of 45 on field goals and missed just two of 72 extra-point tries. Cismesia, 13th on FSU’s alltime scoring list, is one of three Atlantic Coast Conference kickers in the Groza group (Virginia Tech’s Brandon Pace and Wake Forest’s Sam Swank). Last year’s winner, Oregon State’s Alex Serna, also made the cut. Former FSU kicker Sebastian Janikowski is the only two-time winner of the award (1998-99).
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How do you think Ito missing the possible game winning FG (the one Louisville had the penalty on giving him a 2nd chance) last night affects his chances? He pretty much choked from a short distance. Obviously he made the 2nd kick.

 
With one swing of his foot on Saturday, Brandon Pace gave the Virginia Tech Hokies a 6-0 lead against Kent State University at Lane Stadium, and set the team record for consecutive field goals made — 18. Head coach Frank Beamer was certainly glad to comment on his kicker’s accuracy, with the Hokies’ offense still trying to find the end zone regularly. “He’s solid as a rock,” Beamer said. Pace last missed a field goal in a game on Oct. 27, 2005, against Boston College. His second of three 3-pointers on Saturday moved him past Chris Kinzer, who set the previous mark in 1986. Pace said, “After I hit the one that set (the record), I went over and told (holder Nic) Schmitt, ‘Now it’s back to normal.’ Now I can relax. No pressure. Just do what I always do.”

Pace made first-team all-conference in 2004 and is a three-time semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award given to the top college placekicker. He made the cut again this year. Beamer said, “He gets into the ball very quickly and he gets it up very quickly. Those are two great assets. ... I think he’s going to be a great kicker on the next level. Next year I believe you’ll be seeing him on Sundays.” That would mean a place on an NFL team. Pace said that Saturday’s extra assignment, handling some kickoffs, didn’t hurt that quest. He kicked off twice, for 64 and 65 yards, in the second half. “I didn’t know I was going to do it,” he said of the kickoff chore, “but that’s only going to help me in the future. Teams are going to look at that, too.”

This season, Pace is 13-for-13 in field goals and 30-for-32 in point-after kicks. His longest field goal, 46 yards, came in 2004. Last season he set the school single-season record for points by a kicker (108).

At the postgame press conference, a television reporter noted that Pace’s hair was shaggier than it has been for years. Pace grinned when the subject came up. “I’m not getting it cut until I miss,” he said, giving credit to fellow senior Schmitt for proposing that.
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The ball sat on the right hash mark at the Colorado State 23-yard line. One second remained on the clock. On the sideline, New Mexico players linked arms in a superstitious show of solidarity. All eyes were on New Mexico place-kicker Kenny Byrd — and he was laughing. “Guys are arm-in-arm on the sidelines looking at me,” he said. “You’re not supposed to look at the kicker or talk to the kicker, but you can feel them staring at you. It was making me laugh because nobody knew what I knew. I was that confident that when called upon, I’m going to get the job done.” Byrd, a walk-on who never played high school football and is now one of the nation’s top place-kickers, trotted onto the field and exchanged high-fives with holder Bryan Clampitt, who said his usual, “Let’s go, Kenny, you’re money.” Byrd booted the ball right down the middle for a 33-yard field goal in the 20-19 win on Oct. 28. So sure was Byrd that he would kick the game-winner, he was working on his post-kick celebration before he went on the field. He settled on an arms-folded pose.

Byrd, a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, is tied for fifth in field goals per game (1.67) and has hit 22 in a row from inside the 40. He leads the Mountain West Conference with 15 and is 29 for 37 in his career, at 78.4 percent the second most accurate kicker in school history. So what makes this former 135-pounder — he has bulked up to 170 — so consistent? Byrd spends hours visualizing scenes like the one at Colorado State. His routine leaves nothing out — natural grass or turf, wind speed and direction, the color of the opponents’ jerseys, crowd noise, rain or sun. “Every week I make a mental note of kicking a game-winner with two seconds left,” he said. Any butterflies he encounters in real game situations give way to feelings of “been there done that.” “I’ve done it so many times in my head, as weird as it sounds, all I’ve got to do is go out and execute it,” Byrd said. “The confidence takes away any nerves. That’s what the mental reps are for. You practice being nervous and then dealing with it.”

Byrd works with Dr. John Muczko, a sports psychology consultant and professor at Wesley College in Delaware and the former Dallas Cowboys kicker Chris Boniol. Byrd met Muczko last spring, and their work involves not only the mental approach but also how Byrd trains, what he eats and his lifestyle. “He has taken it to heart,” Muczko said. “It’s easy in the spring to say this sounds good, but to really dedicate yourself to the diet and training regimen over the long haul is admirable. It shows a strong-headed individual.”

Byrd, who played soccer at Albuquerque’s St. Pius High School, walked on at New Mexico in the fall of 2002 at the urging of the former New Mexico quarterback Casey Kelly, who at the time was dating Byrd’s sister Kristen. “I remember when Casey brought him over,” the special-teams coach Dan Dodd said. “He kicked a ball and it sounded the way it’s supposed to sound when it comes off a good kicker’s leg. It made you go, ‘Wow.’ ”
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Oklahoma Kicker Garrett Hartley played the Texas Tech game with a twisted left ankle. He still made field goals from 23 and 28 yards and made all four extra-point attempts. Stoops said he was proud of Hartley’s effort, but was still stunned he was hurt. “He had a bad sprain on Tuesday,” he said. “Scott Anderson, our trainer, came up and told me and I couldn't believe it. It’s something he's been doing his whole life practicing his kickoffs and he just came down on it wrong and rolled his ankle.”
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Placekicker Garrett Hartley needed a break against Texas Tech after sustaining a slightly sprained ankle during pregame warmups. Hartley, whose kickoffs have routinely gone out of the end zone this season, did not kick off after the opening kick. Instead, freshman Blake Baublits kicked off after the Sooners' scores. Baublits is a walk-on from McKinney, Texas.
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FINALISTS

John Vaughn, Auburn University, is currently tied for 3rd in the NCAA with 19 made field goals on the season. The senior is 19 of 23 in field goals. Twice this season Vaughn has made four field goals in a game. This season Vaughn is 2 of 3 in field goals 50 yards and longer. His season long came against Mississippi State when he connected on a 55-yard field goal. Also, Vaughn is a perfect 32 of 32 in extra points this season. Vaughn was also named a Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Star of the Week twice this season.

Garrett Hartley, University of Oklahoma, has connected on 17 of 18 field goals this season. His only miss on the year came on a blocked 44-yard field goal against Oregon. Hartley currently ranks 2nd among all players in the Big 12 Conference with 8.2 points per game. The junior place-kicker’s season long is a 46-yard field goal against Iowa State. Hartley has also remained perfect this season in extra point attempts going 39 of 39. Twice this year Hartley was named a Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Star of the Week.

Arthur Carmody, University of Louisville, has been tremendously accurate all season long. On the year he has connected on 94.1% of his field goals. That percentage is currently the 3rd best in the NCAA for place-kickers who have attempted at least 10 field goals. Carmody is 16 of 17 in field goals this season with a long of 51-yards. The junior place-kicker is currently first among kickers in points per game with 9.3 points per game. Carmody is also a perfect 45 for 45 in extra points this season. On three occasions this year Carmody was 3 of 3 in field goals, helping his team win all three games.

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Mike Herman said:
Ask Bobby Bowden about place-kickers and you’re sure to get a grimace and a sigh. While Florida State has produced solid kickers in the past, the conversation inevitably drifts to the many misses that have plagued the Seminoles in big games. Prior to this season, Bowden said Gary Cismesia needed to prove he still was worthy of the starting job. The longtime FSU coach noted that the position warranted stability, which was lacking in recent years. After making 17 of 24 attempts in an inconsistent 2005 season, Cismesia played himself into in a preseason battle with heavy-footed Graham Gano. Eight games into this season, Cismesia is giving Bowden other things to worry about than kickers.

Cismesia this week was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s top kicker. Prior to Saturday, Cismesia was 10 of 12 on field goals, one of those misses was blocked against Maryland, and he was good on 24 of 25 extra points. For his career, he is 34 of 45 on field goals and missed just two of 72 extra-point tries. Cismesia, 13th on FSU’s alltime scoring list, is one of three Atlantic Coast Conference kickers in the Groza group (Virginia Tech’s Brandon Pace and Wake Forest’s Sam Swank). Last year’s winner, Oregon State’s Alex Serna, also made the cut. Former FSU kicker Sebastian Janikowski is the only two-time winner of the award (1998-99).
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What! :shock: Cismesia is a finalist?I guess the only two games I watched of FSU this year were the games where he missed field goals. I was about to say how terrible this guy was. But I guess 10 out of 12 isn't that bad. I mean he could be worse...he could be Vanderjagt! :doh:

 
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