West Palm Beach, Fla. – Tennessee placekicker Brent Cimaglia was named one of 20 semifinalists for the 2019 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced on Thursday.
The junior leads the SEC and is tied for third in the nation with 18 field goals made, while his 90.0 field-goal percentage (18-of-20) and total points scored (78) lead the SEC. He is one of five FBS kickers who have booted multiple field goals from at least 50 yards while still making at least 80 percent of their kicks.
Last week against UAB, the Nashville product went 3-for-3 in field goals. His second field goal of the night was a 48-yarder, his seventh make of 40 yards or longer. On his third and final field goal of the night, he made a 53-yarder to set a new career-long, and tie the eighth-longest make in school history. He is perfect from 50-plus yards this season adding a 51-yarder to the ledger as well. Cimaglia also moved into first place in program history in with a 78.26 field goal percentage (36-of-46) after this past weekend.
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. 25 and honored at the 28th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 9 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, Dec. 12.
The Award is named after 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, 27 finalists, including 15 winners, have gone on to appear in the NFL, earning 10 trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home six Super Bowls. That list includes 2019 NFL kickers Dan Bailey, Randy Bullock, Daniel Carlson, Mason Crosby, Jake Elliott, Ka’imi Fairbairn, Graham Gano, Matt Gay, Zane Gonzalez, Dustin Hopkins, Mike Nugent, and Cairo Santos.
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