2013 Preseason Award Projections: Groza Award

By Charlie Campbell
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Heading into the 2013 college football season, WalterFootball.com will debut our projections for the nation’s leaders during the fall. The All-American teams always have some surprises, and this coming fall’s stars could be the headline players next April for the 2014 NFL Draft. We also will project the winners of the postseason awards that are given out to the best of college football.

The Lou Groza Award is given to the best kicker in college football. Last year’s winner was Tulane kicker Cairo Santos.

Lou Groza Award Winner:

Chris Bowell, Rice

The Lou Groza Award has only once been awarded to the same player in back-to-back years. That came in 1998 and 1999 when Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski won the honor. Thus, I think Boswell has a better shot at winning than Tulane’s Cairo Santos for the second straight season.

Boswell was one of the nation’s top kickers last year. He connected on 23-of-29 field goals (79 percent). That was improved accuracy over his first two seasons. Boswell showed off the strength of his leg by leading the nation with six field goals from over 50 yards, missing only two of those. He also was called on to do some punting and averaged 41 yards per punt.

Boswell has made 51-of-67 (76 percent) field goals in his career. He was 17-of-21 on field goal attempts in 2011. The sophomore had misses from 60, 54, 45 and 38 yards. Two of his connected field goals were over 50 yards, including a career long of 54 yards. Boswell needs to continue to show improved accuracy and leg strength.



Lou Groza Award Runner-Up:

Cairo Santos, Tulane

Santos won last year’s Groza Award after a tremendous junior season. The diminutive kicker (5-8, 160) had a perfect year during which he showed off a strong leg. Santos was a perfect 21-of-21 on field goal attempts in 2012. He was 12-of-12 from 40+ yards and was two-for-two on attempts from 50+ yards. One of those (57 yards) set the school record for a field goal. Santos may be undersized, but he is a natural kicker.

Santos took over as Tulane’s kicker in 2010 and had an impressive debut, connecting on 13-of-16 attempts. However, the true freshman’s long was only 39 yards. Santos was a disappointing 11-of-18 in 2011, but he made five field goals of over 40 yards.

Santos has the physical talent to win the award for the second straight year, but history indicates that the award committee likes to spread the honor around.



Lou Groza Award Dark Horse:

Chandler Catanzaro, Clemson

Catanzaro benefits from a high-powered offense that constantly moves the ball into field goal range. However, Tigers are very good at getting the ball into the end zone, which cuts down on his opportunities.

Catanzaro took over kicking in 2010. The freshman didn’t do all that well in his debut season, hitting only 14-of-22 field goal attempts. Catanzaro showed a lot of improvement in 2011. He made 22-of-27 (81.5 percent) field goals and did well from long distances. The sophomore hit on 9-of-12 on his attempts of 40+ yards.

Catanzaro was extremely reliable last year, making 18-of-19 field goals including two clutch field goals in Clemson’s 25-24 last minute win over LSU to end the season. The senior has a powerful enough leg, and he could make a move this year to be the top kicker in the nation.

Honorable Mentions: Arkansas kicker Zach Hocker, Baylor kicker Aaron Jones, Alabama kicker Cade Foster, Northwestern kicker Jeff Budzien and Syracuse kicker Ross Krautman.











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