Almendares Named Lou Groza Award Semifinalist

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns senior kicker Kenneth Almendares was one of 20 semifinalists named for the 2024 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, presented by the Orange Bowl, on Tuesday.

Almendares, the all-time leading scorer in Ragin' Cajuns history, has scored a Sun Belt-leading 102 points on the season after converting on 22 of 24 field goals on the season and all 36-for-36 in extra point attempts.

The senior, whose lone misses have been from 53 and 60 yards, enters Louisiana's (8-2, 5-1 SBC) home finale against Troy (3-7, 2-4 SBC) with 63 career field goals – one shy of the Sun Belt Conference record set by Blake Grupe (Arkansas State) and Chandler Staton (App State). Almendares has made 63 of 74 field goal attempts (.851) in his career while converting on 148 extra point attempts – three shy of the school record (151) set by Stevie Artigue from 2015-19.

This year's list is something of a changing of the guard, as just five members are repeat honorees. Miami senior Andres Borregales is the only kicker named a semifinalist in each of the past three seasons, joined by Florida State senior Ryan Fitzgerald, Arizona senior Tyler Loop, and Georgia sophomore Peyton Woodring from 2023, and Michigan junior Dominic Zvada who made the list in 2022.

Among the new names on the list are all four FBS kickers who have already reached 20 field goals made. Almendares and UNLV freshman Caden Chittenden lead the nation with 22 makes, followed by 20 field goals each from Ole Miss senior Caden Davis and Miami (Ohio) junior Dom Dzioban.

The list also includes all seven FBS kickers connecting at a 90-percent or better rate on at least 15 attempts: Kentucky senior Alex Raynor (15-for-15), UAB sophomore Jonah Delange (19-for-20), Woodring (16-for-17), Texas Tech senior Gino Garcia (15-for-16), South Alabama junior Laith Marjan (15-for-16), Almendares (22-for-24), and Michigan State graduate Jonathan Kim (18-for-20).

The college game has seen an explosion of long-distance kicks this season, and fittingly, those big legs are well represented as semifinalists. The list includes SMU junior Collin Rogers, whose 7 field goals from at least 50 yards are one away from tying the all-time FBS single-season record. Joining him are all six FBS kickers who have made 3 or more long-distance kicks while still connecting at better than 82% accuracy overall: Fitzgerald (5), Vanderbilt freshman Brock Taylor (5), Zvada (5), Pitt senior Ben Sauls (4), Western Kentucky sophomore Lucas Carneiro (3) and Kim (3).

Semifinalists will be voted on by a panel of FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists, and current NFL kickers to select the three finalists. These finalists will be announced on November 26 and honored at the 33rd annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Banquet on December 9 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 on Thursday, December 12th.

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, 32 finalists, including 17 winners, have gone on to appear in the NFL, earning 13 trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home 7 Super Bowls. That list includes 2024 NFL kickers Daniel Carlson Jake Elliott, Ka'imi Fairbairn, Graham Gano, Matt Gay, Zane Gonzalez, Dustin Hopkins, Joshua Karty, Younghoe Koo, Jake Moody, Will Reichard and Cairo Santos.

Single-game tickets are currently on sale now. Tickets start as low as $15 and can be purchased through RaginCajuns.com and its social media platforms (Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram).

Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (@RaginCajunsFB) to stay up-to-date on Louisiana Football.

Almendares Named Lou Groza Award Semifinalist

Players Mentioned

Kenneth Almendares

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics