Nov. 4, 2003

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced the list of 20 semifinalists for the 2003 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award today, and Maryland junior Nick Novak was among those on the list. The award, which is presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl, will be given out during a ceremony on Tuesday, December 9, at the Palm Beach Gardens Marriott in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Among the 20 semifinalists is the 2002 Lou Groza Award winner Nate Kaeding from the University of Iowa, who has yet to miss a field goal this season. Also making the cut are the place-kickers from some of the top ranked teams in the nation, including: Trey Dicarlo of Oklahoma, Ryan Killeen of Southern Cal, Xavier Beitia of Florida State, Jon Peattie of Miami and Nick Browne from undefeated TCU.

Novak currently leads the ACC in kicking with an average of 2.0 field goals per game. The Charlottesville native tallied 15 points in last weekend's game. He was 3-of-3 on field goals (24, 20, 46) and 6-of-6 on extra points and had nine of 11 kickoffs go for touchbacks, earning ACC Player of the Week honors in the process.

All Division I-A kickers are eligible for consideration for the Award. 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 will be announced on November 17.

The award, now in its 12th 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.

2003 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award
SEMIFINALISTS

Steve Azar
Northern Illinois University
Sr.

Xavier Beitia
Florida State University
Jr.

Nick Browne
Texas Christian University
Sr.

Trey DiCarlo
University of Oklahoma
So.

Drew Dunning
Washington State University
Sr.

Connor Hughes
University of Virginia
So.

Ben Jones
Purdue University
So.

Nate Kaeding
University of Iowa
Sr.

Ryan Killeen
University of Southern California
Jr.

Matt Leach
University of Florida
Jr.

J.C. Mejia
San Diego State
Sr.

Jonathan Nichols
University of Mississippi
Jr.

Nick Novak
University of Maryland
Jr.

Matt Payne
Brigham Young University
Jr.

Jon Peattie
University of Miami (Fla.)
Fr.

Dillon Pieffer
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Sr.

David Rayner
Michigan State University
Jr.

Nate Smith
University of Louisville
Sr.

Andrew Wellock
Eastern Michigan University
Fr.

Kirk Yliniemi
Oregon State University
Sr.