A-State’s Brian Davis Named Semifinalist for Lou Groza Award

 

A-State's Brian Davis Named Semifinalist for Lou Groza Award

JONESBORO – The Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Monday that Arkansas State senior placekicker Brian Davis has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the 2013 Lou Groza Award presented by the Orange Bowl Committee.

A Brentwood, Tenn. native, Davis has been named a semifinalist for the second straight year after recording a school-record 104 points by kicking last season as a junior.  Davis is a perfect 10-of-10 on his field goal attempts this season, including one covering a career-long distance of 50 yards, and leads the team in scoring with 54 points.

One of three semifinalists yet to miss a kick this season, Davis has made his last 12 consecutive field goals dating back to last season for the second longest streak in school history.  He has made all four of his field goal attempts covering at least 40 yards this season.

A-State’s all-time leader in career points by kicking (289), he needs just seven more to break the Sun Belt Conference record.  He is currently tied for seventh in the nation in career field goals made (50), tied for ninth in career field goal percentage (.823) and 11th in career extra points made among active players.

He already holds the Arkansas State single-game records for most points by kicking (23) and most field goals made (6).  He needs eight field goals to break the school and Sun Belt Conference records for most field goals in career (58).

Also on the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) National Placekicker Trophy Watch List, Davis was a 2013 Preseason First Team All-Sun Belt Conference choice and a Phil Steele’s Midseason First Team All-Sun Belt pick.  He was a 2013 National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar-Athlete Awards candidate and a William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist.  He has been named a CFPA Specialist of the Week three times this season, and he has been chosen as the Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week three times during his career.

Davis is the first two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist in school history, while former kicker Josh Arauco was a finalist in 2008.

Semifinalists will be voted on by FBS Head Coaches and SIDs, along with national and regional football writers, and past Groza winners to select the three finalists. These finalists will be announced on Nov. 25 and honored at the 22nd annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 10 in West Palm Beach, Fla. The winner will be announced live on the Home Depot ESPN College Football Awards Show on Thursday, Dec. 12.

The award is named in honor of one of the all-time great kickers in football history, Lou Groza. Groza played 21 seasons for the Cleveland Browns setting numerous franchise records, including most games played, most points scored, and an amazing 107 consecutive games in which he scored a point. Groza was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

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