WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Thursday that the University of South Alabama's Aleem Sunanon is among the 30 individuals who have been selected to the Watch List for the 2015 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award.
The lone representative of the Sun Belt Conference on the list, Sunanon has led the Jaguars in scoring each of the past two seasons.
The award is named for National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou "The Toe" Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award will be announced Nov. 5, while the three finalists will be unveiled on Nov. 23. The winner of the 2015 Lou Groza Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 10.
The 24th Annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award will recognize the three finalists during an early week celebration in Palm Beach County, culminating with a gala awards banquet at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on Dec. 7 prior to joining ESPN in Atlanta.
Last season, the 5-foot-7, 170-pound junior was a second-team all-conference selection by Phil Steele Publications after converting 15-of-18 field-goal tries — including making his last eight — while going 24-of-26 on extra-point attempts. He tied for 12th nationally after converting 83.3 percent of his field-goal attempts, sharing the league lead in the category, and also ranked third in the Sun Belt and 55th in the country with 1.15 field goals per contest. Sunanon recorded a season-best 12 points on two occasions, hitting three field goals and all three points-after-touchdown in a win over Georgia State while tying a school game record after making 4-of-4 field-goal tries at South Carolina.
As a redshirt freshman in 2013, the resident of Orlando, Fla., scored a school season-record 91 points — hitting 18-of-23 field goals and 37-of-39 on extra-point attempts — to be selected honorable mention all-conference. Sunanon paced all Sun Belt kickers in points and field goals per game, ranking among the top 20 nationally in the latter category, while finishing second among all players in the conference in scoring average. He hit a season-high three fields on four occasions, connecting on a school-record 12 in a row over USA's final seven contests.
After two seasons serving as the Jags' placekicker, Sunanon already has set a program career record with 33 field goals while he stands second on the all-time list with 160 total points and an 80.5 percent success rate on field-goal attempts.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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