K Randy Bond Named to Groza Award Preseason Watch List

And here’s the kicker…

Texas A&M kicker Randy Bond was named to the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Preseason Watch List, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Friday morning.

Bond connected on 26 field goal attempts last season and averaged 9.7 points per game for the Aggies, ranking fourth in the nation and sitting atop the SEC in both categories. His 126 total points on the year were also good for sixth in the country and second among league kickers. The senior from Plano, Texas, was one of two FBS kickers to send five field goals through the uprights from 50-plus yards last season. Bond has made 39 field goals in his career, the second-best mark among active kickers with only two campaigns.

Accomplishments are tabulated throughout the season and the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award will announce its 20 semifinalists on Tuesday, Nov. 19. From this list, a panel of FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists and current NFL kickers selects the top three finalists for the award, announced on Tuesday, Nov. 26. That same group then selects the national winner, who will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 12 during the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.

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.