Nov. 1, 2006

The Palm Beach County Sports Institute and Sports Commission are proud to announce the 20 semifinalists for the 2006 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl. These twenty place-kickers have all excelled throughout the season in earning their place as a semifinalist.

Among this year’s 20 semifinalists is South Carolina sophomore Ryan Succop. Succop has connected on 10-of-11 field goal attempts, including a 50 and a 55-yarder, and has been successful on all 20 of his extra point attempts.

And the 2006 Lou Groza Semifinalists 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

The Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award recognizes the top place-kicker in NCAA Division I-A football. Voters for the award include Division I-A head coaches, sports writers and sportscasters, conference representatives, professional kickers, and previous Groza Award finalists.

The three finalists for the Lou Groza Award are announced on Monday, November 20 and will be honored at the 15th Annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Banquet on Tuesday, December 5 at the Palm Beach Gardens Marriott. The 2006 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award winner will be announced on Thursday, December 7 during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Award Show in Orlando, Florida.

The award, now in its 15th year, is named for NFL Hall-of-Fame kicker Lou 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. Nicknamed “The Toe,” Groza was one of the first people to truly make kicking an art form, and he helped usher in to football the idea that a player could be used exclusively for kicking.

For more information on the 20 semifinalists, including complete statistics, please visit http://www.lougrozaaward.com/Candidates/index.htm.

The Lou Groza Award is also sponsored by The Breakers, Coastal Limousine, Continental Airlines, Discretion Entertainment, Duffy’s Sports Grill, Enterprise rent-a-car, ESPN Radio 760, ESPN Regional Television, FedEx Orange Bowl, Florida Atlantic University Athletics, Florida Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Hartless Foundation, InBloom, JBS Destination Solutions, John F. Romano, P.A., Palm Beach Gardens Marriott, Palm Beach Kennel Club, The Palm Beach Post, Parallax Productions, PGA National Golf Club, Rooney’s Public House, Southern Audio Visual, The Tux Shop, and WPEC News-12.

For more information regarding the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, including banquet, hotel, and ticket information please contact Dusty Ann Williams at the Palm Beach County Sports Institute at (561) 233-3122 or dwilliams@palmbeachsports.com.