Lou Groza Award / Palm Beach County Sports Commission assisted in this release.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has released the 20 semifinalists for the 2014 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl. ULM senior specialist Justin Manton is one of twenty kickers who have all excelled throughout the season in earning their places as semifinalists. Manton is also the only kicker from the Sun Belt Conference and the state of Louisiana to be named a semifinalist for the award.
On the season, Manton has connected on 11 of his 13 field goal attempts and all 14 PATs. He has 47 points on the season and enters this weekend's contest at Appalachian State with 220 career points. He needs just 13 points to move into second place in career scoring in program history; Rob Tallent (1989-92) currently holds the second spot with 232 points.
This season, Manton is a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals 29 yards or closer and he is also 3-of-3 on field goals 40 yards or longer. Against Texas State, Manton set a new career-long with a 51-yard field goal – the 51-yard field goal is also the longest in the Sun Belt this season. Later in the game, Manton hit a 43-yarder and it marked the first time in his career that he hit two field goals of 40 or more yards in the same game. Manton is also the first player in Sun Belt history to connect on two field goals of 40 or more yards in one game.
Earlier this season against Troy, Manton set career-highs in field goal attempts (three), field goal makes (three) and points in a game (10). He has matched those totals two other times (Texas State and at Texas A&M). Against the Aggies on Nov. 1, Manton matched his career-long field goal with a 51-yard boot.
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Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Semifinalists (alphabetical):
Corey Acosta - Southern Miss
Roberto Aguayo - Florida State
Kyle Bullard - Houston
Will Conant - Air Force
Brad Craddock - Maryland
Sam Ficken - Penn State
Elliott Fry - South Carolina
Ian Fry - Virginia
Andrew Gantz - Cincinnati
Zane Gonzalez - Arizona State
Ben Grogan - Oklahoma State
Ammon Lakip - Clemson
Josh Lambert - West Virginia
Justin Manton - ULM
Ross Martin - Duke
Cole Murphy - Syracuse
Jaden Oberkrom - TCU
Andy Phillips - Utah
Scott Secor - Ball State
John Wallace - Louisville
Additional information about the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award:
Semifinalists will be voted on by FBS Head Coaches and SIDs, past Groza finalists, and national and regional football writers to select the three finalists. These finalists will be announced on November 24th and honored at the 23rd annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on December 9th in West Palm Beach, Florida. The winner will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Thursday, December 11th.
The award is named in honor of one of the all-time great kickers in football history, Lou Groza. Groza played 21 seasons for the Cleveland Browns setting numerous franchise records, including most games played, most points scored, and an amazing 107 consecutive games in which he scored a point. Groza was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.
Since the first Lou Groza Award was handed out in 1992, 20 finalists, including 11 winners, have gone on to appear in the NFL, earning eight trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home five Super Bowls. That list includes current NFL kickers Dan Bailey, Randy Bullock, Mason Crosby, Kai Forbath, Graham Gano, Sebastian Janikowski, 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. Additional information can be obtained by contacting Kris Pursell, Director of Event Operations at the Palm Beach County Sports Commission at (561) 233-3124 or kpursell@palmbeachsports.com.
The Lou Groza Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 21 awards boast 678 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.
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 Awards program, the 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.
