WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has released the 20 semifinalists for the 2020 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl with Nevada sophomore Brandon Talton earning a spot on the list.
Given the unique nature of this college football season, the committee considered all FBS kickers who had played in at least six games and attempted at least 10 field goals through the games of Week 14.
Talton is one of 20 semifinalists from around the nation and is the only one from the Mountain West.
Talton has been near perfect this season making 13-of-14 field goal attempts with his only miss coming from 51 yards.
He connected on his season-long make of 49 yards on Saturday in a win over Fresno State. Talton’s field goal percentage of 92.9 and his field goals per game average of 1.86 both rank second in the Mountain West and are seventh nationally.
Earlier this season Talton tied his single-game career-high with four made field goals in the win over San Diego State.
Additionally near the midway point of the season, Talton led the nation with 18 consecutive field goals made until his miss against SDSU from 51 yards out. He is 24-of-25 on PATs this season as well.
Though just a sophomore and having played in 20 games in his career, Talton has already begun to make a splash in the Nevada record book.
The Vacaville, Calif. native ranks seventh in career field goals made with 34 and is 10th in career kick scoring with 153 points.
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 Dec. 22 and honored at the 29th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Virtual Awards Celebration, streamed live on Jan. 4 on lougrozaaward.com.
The same panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Thursday, Jan. 7.
