Sept. 17, 2009

University of South Carolina junior placekicker Spencer Lanning was named a “Star of the Week” for the weekend of September 12 as selected by the Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicker Award, which is sponsored by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission.

A PAT swatted away by a leaping Bulldogs defender spoiled a record-tying game for Lanning, in the Gamecocks’ 41-37 loss to Georgia in their SEC conference opener in Athens. Lanning tied a school record with five field goals and pulled off a fake punt. A former walk-on who earned the team’s Special Teams award in the spring, Lanning connected from 21, 39, 22, 35 and 34 yards in what was a wide open game that took nearly four hours to complete.

Central Michigan senior Andrew Aguila and UCLA junior Kai Forbath were the other recipients as the commission recognizes three of the top kickers each week from FBS division teams.

The Lou Groza Award will be presented as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show in Orlando, Florida on Thursday December 10th. The three finalists will be feted at the 18th Annual Lou Groza Awards Banquet on Tuesday December 8th at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. For more information on the Groza Award and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, visit www.palmbeachsports.com.