McPherson Named Lou Groza Award Semifinalist
Thursday, November 1, 2018 | Football
The Palm Beach County Sports Commission released the 20 semifinalists for the 2018 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl.
Complete List of Semifinalists
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Kicker Evan McPherson was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, as announced by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission on Thursday.
McPherson has been a consistent factor in the Gators' special team efforts. The Fort Payne, Ala. native has made 12 of his 13 collegiate field goal attempts (92.3%), as he is tied for fourth nationally in field goal percentage and ranks third among kickers with at least 10 attempts this season.
McPherson is two-for-two in 2018 on kicks of 40-plus yards, and his long for the season is 48 against Colorado State on Sept. 15.
The rookie has garnered two Southeastern Conference weekly awards as McPherson was named the league's freshman of the week after Florida's wins at Mississippi State and at Vanderbilt.
Additionally, the freshman is handling kickoff responsibilities for the Gators. Overall for the season, he has totaled 25 touchbacks on 47 kickoffs and averaged 64.1 yards per kickoff.
Lou Groza Award Information
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 November 20th and honored at the 27th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on December 3rd 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 Thursday, December 6th.
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.
For more information on the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, and to see the "Stars of the Week" throughout the season, please go to lougrozaaward.com. For even more updates on the best kicking performances throughout the season, follow @LouGrozaAward on Twitter.
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