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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Nichols Named To Preseason Groza Watch List
8/6/2003 | Football
Aug. 6, 2003
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Ole Miss junior kicker Jonathan Nichols of Greenwood, Miss., has been named to the 2003 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Preseason Watch List.
The Watch List is comprised of the top 30 preliminary candidates for the 12th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl. The award will be given out during a ceremony on Tuesday, December 9, 2003, at the West Palm Beach Marriott at CityPlace in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Nichols, a 6-0, 180 pound two-time letterman, led Coach David Cutcliffe's 2002 Rebel team in scoring with 85 points as he set a new Ole Miss single-season record for points by a kicker, breaking Les Binkley's 1999 mark of 78 points. He made 40-of-40 PAT attempts and connected on 15-of-20 field goal attempts, with a long of 50 yards, as he ranked second among Southeastern Conference kickers in scoring, and fourth overall, averaging 6.5 points per game.
Among those kickers named to the Lou Groza Award Preseason Watch List are last year's Lou Groza Award winner, Nate Kaeding of Iowa, and the two other finalists for the award, Ohio State's Mike Nugent and Oregon's Jared Siegel. Also on the list are the kickers from seven of the eight teams who played in BCS bowl games last season: Xavier Beitia of Florida State, Billy Bennett of Georgia, Trey DiCarlo of Oklahoma, Drew Dunning of Washington State, Kaeding, Ryan Killeen of USC and Nugent.
The kickers on the Lou Groza Award Watch List were chosen based on statistics from the 2002 season and preseason expectations. However, all Division I-A kickers are eligible for consideration for the award.
A panel of over 300 experts votes on the award, including Division I-A head coaches, sports writers and sportscasters, conference representatives, professional kickers and all previous Groza Award finalists.
The 20 semi-finalists for the Lou Groza Award will be announced on Monday, November 3, followed with the naming of the three finalists two weeks later, on Monday, 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.
