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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football’s Lucas Carneiro Named Lou Groza Award Semifinalist
11/18/2025 | Football
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Ole Miss football senior kicker Lucas Carneiro has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza National Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, as announced by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission on Tuesday morning.
Carneiro is one of five SEC kickers to make the cut, and he is one of five returning semifinalists from a year ago. At 21-of-23 on field goals this season, Carneiro is tied for the SEC lead and tied for third nationally in field goals made – making him one of six semifinalists to have broken 20 field goals made so far this year.
Combined with his perfect 43-of-43 line on PATs, Carneiro's 106 points scored ranks third nationally and second in the SEC only to teammate Kewan Lacy's 114. Carneiro's 106 points currently have him sixth in Ole Miss history among kickers and seventh in overall scoring, while his 21 field goals has him fifth and within striking distance of Jonathan Nichols' 2003 record of 25.
Carneiro's lone two misses this year have come from 47 and 51 yards, with the latter constituting his first-ever miss from 50 yards or further. An All-American at Western Kentucky prior to coming to Ole Miss, Carneiro owns a career field goal line of 48-of-54 (.889) and a perfect 131-of-131 clip on PATs – making him one of only 10 active FBS kickers perfect with at least 100 PAT attempts.
Carneiro has also taken over kickoff duties for the first time in his career and has proven brilliant at it, owning 68 of Ole Miss' FBS-leading 69 touchbacks this year.
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 on Nov. 25 and honored at the 34th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 8 in Palm Beach County. The same panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Fri., Dec. 12.
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, 33 finalists, including 17 winners, have gone on to appear in the NFL, earning 13 trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home eight Super Bowls. That list includes 2025 NFL kickers Daniel Carlson Jake Elliott, Ka'imi Fairbairn, Ryan Fitzgerald, Graham Gano, Matt Gay, Zane Gonzalez, Joshua Karty, Younghoe Koo, Jake Moody, Will Reichard, Cairo Santos and Andre Szmyt.
2025 Lou Groza Award Semifinalists
Aidan Birr – Georgia Tech
Trey Butkowski – Pitt
Lucas Carneiro – Ole Miss
Dom Dzioban – Miami (Ohio)
Chris Freeman – UConn
Stone Harrington – Texas Tech
Jackson Kleather – Bowling Green
Luca Lombardo – Boston College
Laith Marjan – Kansas
Kansei Matsuzawa – Hawaii
Gabriel Plascencia – San Diego State
Nico Radicic – Indiana
Damian Ramos – LSU
Noe Ruelas – UCF
Ethan Sanchez – Houston
Tate Sandell – Oklahoma
Ryon Sayeri – USC
Trey Smack – Florida
Gianni Spetic – Memphis
Peyton Woodring – Georgia
Carneiro is one of five SEC kickers to make the cut, and he is one of five returning semifinalists from a year ago. At 21-of-23 on field goals this season, Carneiro is tied for the SEC lead and tied for third nationally in field goals made – making him one of six semifinalists to have broken 20 field goals made so far this year.
Combined with his perfect 43-of-43 line on PATs, Carneiro's 106 points scored ranks third nationally and second in the SEC only to teammate Kewan Lacy's 114. Carneiro's 106 points currently have him sixth in Ole Miss history among kickers and seventh in overall scoring, while his 21 field goals has him fifth and within striking distance of Jonathan Nichols' 2003 record of 25.
Carneiro's lone two misses this year have come from 47 and 51 yards, with the latter constituting his first-ever miss from 50 yards or further. An All-American at Western Kentucky prior to coming to Ole Miss, Carneiro owns a career field goal line of 48-of-54 (.889) and a perfect 131-of-131 clip on PATs – making him one of only 10 active FBS kickers perfect with at least 100 PAT attempts.
Carneiro has also taken over kickoff duties for the first time in his career and has proven brilliant at it, owning 68 of Ole Miss' FBS-leading 69 touchbacks this year.
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 on Nov. 25 and honored at the 34th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on Dec. 8 in Palm Beach County. The same panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Fri., Dec. 12.
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, 33 finalists, including 17 winners, have gone on to appear in the NFL, earning 13 trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home eight Super Bowls. That list includes 2025 NFL kickers Daniel Carlson Jake Elliott, Ka'imi Fairbairn, Ryan Fitzgerald, Graham Gano, Matt Gay, Zane Gonzalez, Joshua Karty, Younghoe Koo, Jake Moody, Will Reichard, Cairo Santos and Andre Szmyt.
2025 Lou Groza Award Semifinalists
Aidan Birr – Georgia Tech
Trey Butkowski – Pitt
Lucas Carneiro – Ole Miss
Dom Dzioban – Miami (Ohio)
Chris Freeman – UConn
Stone Harrington – Texas Tech
Jackson Kleather – Bowling Green
Luca Lombardo – Boston College
Laith Marjan – Kansas
Kansei Matsuzawa – Hawaii
Gabriel Plascencia – San Diego State
Nico Radicic – Indiana
Damian Ramos – LSU
Noe Ruelas – UCF
Ethan Sanchez – Houston
Tate Sandell – Oklahoma
Ryon Sayeri – USC
Trey Smack – Florida
Gianni Spetic – Memphis
Peyton Woodring – Georgia
Players Mentioned
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