Michigan Kicker Among Finalists To Win Groza Award

Michigan kicker Jake Moody has already been named the Big Ten kicker of the year, but now a national award beckons.

Moody, who is from Northville, was soliciting for votes from the public before the voting closed yesterday afternoon.

He was among the the three finalists for the award, named after Lou Groza, who kicked for Ohio State back in the 1946 season, before embarking on a pro career with the Cleveland Browns, and becoming the first player to score points from beyond fifty yards, leading the kickers becoming specialists like they currently.

Prior to Groza, kickers like him also held regular positions on the team. Groza was also an offensive tackle, before becoming a kicking specialist.

Moody, along with Gabe Brcic of Oklahoma and Noah Ruggles of Ohio State, were the three Groza finalists, leading up to a public vote which opened last week and ended Tuesday.

The winner of the public vote would receive one extra vote in the final polling of collegiate sports writers and journalists nationwide.

According to the Groza Award web site:

This year’s finalists were selected by a panel of more than 100 FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists, and current NFL kickers. These finalists will be honored at the 30^th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Virtual Awards Celebration, streamed live on December 8^th on lougrozaaward.com. The same voting panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, December 9^th. For more information on the Lou Groza Award and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, visit www.palmbeachsports.com.

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 11 trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home 6 Super Bowls. That list includes 2021 NFL kickers Rodrigo Blankenship, Randy Bullock, Daniel Carlson Mason Crosby, Jake Elliott, Ka’imi Fairbairn, Graham Gano, Matt Gay, Zane Gonzalez, Dustin Hopkins, Younghoe Koo and Cairo Santos.

Moody has already won the Bakken-Anderson Award, as Big Ten Kicker of the Year.