University of North Carolina Athletics
Weiler Named To Groza Top 20 List
November 5, 2015 | Football
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has released the 20 semifinalists for the 2015 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl, and North Carolina junior Nick Weiler is among those honored. These twenty kickers have all excelled throughout the season in earning their places as semifinalists.
Weiler has excelled in his first full season as the starting place-kicker for UNC. The Fairfax Station, Virginia, product has made 14 of 16 field goals this season and is a perfect 33 for 33 on extra point attempts. Weiler leads the 7-1 Tar Heels with 75 points and is coming off a career-high four field goals in last week's win over Pitt.
Semifinalists will be voted on by FBS Head Coaches and SIDs, a panel of kicking experts including all previous 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 24th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on December 7th in West Palm Beach, Florida. The winner will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Thursday, December 10.
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, Mason Crosby, Kai Forbath, Graham Gano, Dustin Hopkins, 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.
