Lou Groza Award Watch List: Ranking the Top 10 Candidates

With the college football watch lists being released by the day we know that the college football season is right around the corner. Today, the watch list for the Lou Groza Award has been released. It is the award that is given out to the best placekicker in the country.

Kickers are football players that don't receive much love from the fans, but we have seen so many cases where a game is either won or lost on a field goal attempt. It would be wise for your program to have a reliable kicker throughout the season.

With many great kickers on the Lou Groza list, here are 10 of those players who have the best chance to win the award in 2012.

10. Mitch Ewald, Indiana

Mitch Ewald made 13 of his 16 field goal attempts and is now a perfect 63 of 63 in his career when attempting an extra point. His 81.3 field goal percentage was tied for 23rd in the country and was an honorable mention for the All-Big Ten team. He was a perfect 10-10 from inside 40 yards last season.

9. Chris Boswell, Rice

Chris Boswell made 81 percent of his field goals, which was tied for 25th in the country. He was a 2011 Lou Groza Award semifinalist and tied a Rice record of 17 made field goals in one season. Despite only playing two years so far, he is already seventh on the Owls all-time scoring list. Boswell also made three field goals of at least 50 yards last season.

8. Brett Baer, Louisiana-Lafayette

Brett Baer is about as reliable as you are going to find a kicker. His 90 percent field goal percentage was higher than anyone else in the country. He made a 50-yard field goal to give Louisiana-Lafayette its first bowl victory in school history. He was a named to the All-Sun Belt second-team as both a kicker and punter, and has made 92 percent of his field goals throughout his career.

7. Chandler Catanzaro, Clemson

The few times the Clemson Tigers weren't able to punch the ball into the end zone, kicker Chandler Catanzaro was able to put three on the board. He made 81.5 percent of his kicks, including a game-winner against Wake Forest and 9-12 from beyond 50-yards. He was named second-team All-ACC and was a 2011 Lou Groza Award semifinalist.

6. Andre Heidari, USC

Andre Heidari stepped on the field as a true freshman and made the most of his opportunities, connecting on 15 of 17 field goals. His 88.2 field goal percentage was good for third in the country and a big reason he was named first-team All-Pac-12 and a 2011 Groza Award semifinalist. Heidari also handled the kickoffs for the Trojans, pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line on 25 of his 76 attempts. 

5. Brett Maher, Nebraska

Brett Maher had the 16th highest field goal percentage in the country at 82.6. He was a 2011 Groza semifinalist last season, along with being named the first-team All-Big Ten kicker and punter. Maher only missed one kick all season from inside 50 yards and his 19 made field goals were second most in Nebraska history.

4. Drew Alleman, LSU

Drew Alleman did not have many chances to kick field goals last season for LSU, only attempting 18 kicks and making 16 of them. His 88.9 field goal percentage was good for first in the SEC and second best in the entire country. He connected on 62 of his 63 extra points and was a 2011 Lou Groza Award semifinalist along with being named to the second-team All-SEC.

3. Dustin Hopkins, Florida State

Dustin Hopkins made 81.5 percent of his field goals last season which was tied for 21st in the country. He has also made 130 straight extra points, which is the longest active streak in the country and second longest in ACC history. He has one of the strongest legs in the country and handles the Seminoles kickoff duties as well.

2. Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State

Quinn Sharp does it all for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He handles the kickoff duties, punts and of course is the field goal kicker. He made 88 percent of his attempts last season and was named the first-team Big 12 kicker and punter in 2011. He finished fifth in the country in scoring and led all kickers with 145 total points. He is also a 2012 finalist for the Ray Guy Award, which is given out to the best punter in the country. 

1. Caleb Sturgis, Florida

Caleb Sturgis was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2011 and was first-team All-SEC. His 84.6 field goal percentage was good for 10th in the country and his 55-yard field goal was the third longest of any kicker last season. He also handled the kickoff duties for the Gators, averaging 66.40 per kickoff.

He is so valuable to this Florida team that Bleacher Report has ranked him a top 150 player in the SEC.