WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – San Diego State sophomore Matt Araiza has been named to the Lou Groza Award Watch List, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Wednesday. The award is presented annually to the top college placekicker.
Last year as a redshirt freshman, Araiza (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo High) set an Aztec single-season record with 22 field goals, going 22-for-26 (.846) en route to earning all-Mountain West honorable-mention accolades. Araiza, whose 84.6 field goal percentage tied for fifth in SDSU single-season history, led San Diego State with 94 points and had more points than the next three players combined (78). One of only five kickers in FBS play last year to make at least one field goal in every game (min. 12 games), Araiza tied for the FBS lead with a perfect PAT percentage, and led the MW in touchback percentage (78.46, 6th in FBS), field goals (22, T-11th in FBS), field goals per game (1.69, T-12th in FBS), field goal attempts (26, T-15th in FBS) and touchbacks (51, T-16th in FBS), while ranking third in field goal percentage (84.62, 24th) and kickoff average (62.77, 34th in FBS). Among freshmen kickers in the country in 2019, he ranked first in field goals (22), and was third in field goal percentage (84.62) and eighth in points by kickers (94).
Araiza enters his sophomore season in 2020 ranked second all-time in Aztec history in field goal percentage (.846) (min. 25 att.). He has made at least one field goal in 13 straight games, which is the second-longest active streak in the country.
Araiza is the sixth SDSU player to earn Lou Groza Award recognition, joining Peter Holt (finalist in 1996), J.C. Mejia (semifinalist in 2003), Abel Perez (preseason in 2011), Donny Hageman (preseason in 2015) and John Baron II (semifinalist in 2016 and 2018, preseason in 2017).
San Diego State is coming off a 10-3 record in 2019, the program's fourth double-digit win campaign over the last five years.
With 30 on the initial list, the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-kicker Award will be narrowed down to 20 semifinalists on Nov. 5. From this list, a panel of more than 100 FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists, and current NFL kickers selects the top three finalists for the award, released on Nov. 24. That same group then selects the national winner, which will be announced on Dec. 10 during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN. The three finalists also attend a gala award banquet at West Palm Beach's Kravis Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 7.
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.
Matt Araiza Named to Lou Groza Award Watch List
