Dec. 7, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Daniel Carlson was named the Southeastern Conference's special teams player of the year Wednesday in a whirlwind week of recognition for the Auburn place-kicker.
Carlson attended the Lou Groza Award banquet in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on Monday as one of the three finalists for the national kicking award. He'll learn if he won the Groza at the College Football Awards Show in Atlanta on Thursday night.
Carlson leads the SEC in scoring, thanks, in part, to hitting an league-best 26 field goals. He scored a touchdown on a fake field goal as well. His six field goals in Auburn's 18-13 win over LSU tied an SEC record. He's also one of best at kickoffs in the nation. Fifty-four of his 68 kickoffs went for touchbacks.
Carlson was named to the coaches' All-SEC first team on Tuesday with teammates Kamryn Pettway and Carlson Lawson. Auburn players named to the coaches' second team were Montravius Adams, Alex Kozan and Braden Smith.
Carlson was also named the league's top kicker Wednesday by Pro Football Focus. His teammates won honors, too. Smith and Robert Leff were named All-SEC first team offensive lineman. Lawson was named second-team defensive lineman.
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine