AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn's Alex McPherson is one of 20 semifinalists for the 2023 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, presented by the Orange Bowl, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Thursday.
McPherson ranks No. 1 in the country with a 100 percent field goal accuracy, having converted on all nine attempts this season. The redshirt freshman from Fort Payne, Alabama, is also 29-for-29 on PATs for a total of 56 points scored.
McPherson is 1-for-1 from 50 yards or farther, 2-for-2 from 40-49 yards, 6-for-6 on kicks from 30-39 yards and 2-for-2 from 20-29-yard range.
Fellow Groza Award semifinalists Graham Nicholson from Miami of Ohio, who is 17-for-17, and Texas State's Mason Shipley, who's 11-for-11, have also connected on all their field goal opportunities this season.
Auburn's game at Arkansas Saturday at 3 p.m. CT will feature two Groza Award semifinalists. Razorbacks kicker Cam Little shares the national lead with four kicks from at least 50 yards out.
Semifinalists will be voted on by a panel of more than 100 FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists and current NFL kickers to select the three finalists. These finalists will be announced Nov. 28 and honored at the 32nd annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 4 in Palm Beach County. The same panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN during the Home Depot College Football Awards on Friday, Dec. 8.
The award is named for National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou "The Toe" 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. Although an All-Pro offensive lineman as well, Groza ushered in the notion that there should be a place on an NFL roster for a kicker.
Since the first Lou Groza Award was handed out in 1992, 28 finalists, including 16 winners, have gone on to appear in the NFL, earning 13 trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home seven Super Bowls. That list includes 2023 NFL kickers Randy Bullock, former Auburn standout Daniel Carlson and Jake Elliott.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
