University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Elliott Named Finalist for Groza Award
Nov 24, 2015 | Football
The Home Depot 25th Anniversary College Football Awards slated for Thursday, Dec. 10
University of Memphis junior Jake Elliott has been named one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award.
Elliott, who leads all NCAA FBS kickers in scoring, will attend the 24th Annual Lou Groza Award festivities in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., before attending The Home Depot 25th Anniversary College Football Awards at The College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga., all during the week of Dec. 6-11.
The winner of the 2015 Lou Groza Award will be announced during the awards show which will air from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec., 10 on ESPN.
Having scored 119 points during the 2015 season, Elliott ranks fifth overall in FBS scoring and points per game (10.8 ppg). He has made 22-of-26 field goal attempts, including a season long 52-yarder. He has also converted on all 53 of his PATs this season.
Elliott's 2.00 field goals per game ties for the national lead. He has converted 84.6 percent of his field goal attempts this season.
With 119 points in 2015, Elliott has scored 100+ points for consecutive seasons, joining Stephen Gostkowski and DeAngelo Williams as the only players in program history to accomplish the feat.
Elliott has scored 311 career points, which ranks third all-time at Memphis.
He is coming off a Temple game in which he booted field goals of 31, 46, 44 and 39 yards, tying for third-most field goals made in a game at Memphis. It was the fifth time this season and 15th time of his career that Elliott scored in double-figures in a game.
Earlier in the year, Elliott booted what proved to be the game-winning field goal with 7:35 to play, drilling a 29-yard kick to give Memphis a 44-41 lead at Bowling Green. Last year, he kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired at Temple to help make the Tigers bowl eligible. His 54-yard field goal in overtime at the Miami Beach Bowl was the longest in an overtime period in NCAA FBS history. It was also the fourth-longest field goal in NCAA bowl game history and the longest since 2004.
In addition to his scoring numbers, Elliott has played a significant role in Memphis' leading the nation in kickoff return defense. Memphis has allowed opponents just 15 yards per kickoff return … That is when opponents have had an opportunity to return kicks (18 returns).
Elliott has placed 66 of 86 kickoffs into the end zone for no return (76.7 percent).
Last year Elliott was named the American Athletic Conference's Special Teams Player of the Year as well as selected the league's all-conference kicker for a second straight year.
In the classroom, Elliott carries a 3.84 grade point average as a Marketing Management major.
The first-ever recipient of the Lou Groza Award was Memphis' Joe Allison in 1992. Elliott becomes the second Memphis student-athlete in the past three seasons to be invited to The Home Depot College Football Awards. As a senior in 2013, Tom Hornsey was named the winner of the Ray Guy Award.
The other two finalists for the 2015 Groza Award are Auburn's Daniel Carlson and UCLA's Ka'imi Fairbairn.
Elliott, who leads all NCAA FBS kickers in scoring, will attend the 24th Annual Lou Groza Award festivities in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., before attending The Home Depot 25th Anniversary College Football Awards at The College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga., all during the week of Dec. 6-11.
The winner of the 2015 Lou Groza Award will be announced during the awards show which will air from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec., 10 on ESPN.
Having scored 119 points during the 2015 season, Elliott ranks fifth overall in FBS scoring and points per game (10.8 ppg). He has made 22-of-26 field goal attempts, including a season long 52-yarder. He has also converted on all 53 of his PATs this season.
Elliott's 2.00 field goals per game ties for the national lead. He has converted 84.6 percent of his field goal attempts this season.
With 119 points in 2015, Elliott has scored 100+ points for consecutive seasons, joining Stephen Gostkowski and DeAngelo Williams as the only players in program history to accomplish the feat.
Elliott has scored 311 career points, which ranks third all-time at Memphis.
He is coming off a Temple game in which he booted field goals of 31, 46, 44 and 39 yards, tying for third-most field goals made in a game at Memphis. It was the fifth time this season and 15th time of his career that Elliott scored in double-figures in a game.
Earlier in the year, Elliott booted what proved to be the game-winning field goal with 7:35 to play, drilling a 29-yard kick to give Memphis a 44-41 lead at Bowling Green. Last year, he kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired at Temple to help make the Tigers bowl eligible. His 54-yard field goal in overtime at the Miami Beach Bowl was the longest in an overtime period in NCAA FBS history. It was also the fourth-longest field goal in NCAA bowl game history and the longest since 2004.
In addition to his scoring numbers, Elliott has played a significant role in Memphis' leading the nation in kickoff return defense. Memphis has allowed opponents just 15 yards per kickoff return … That is when opponents have had an opportunity to return kicks (18 returns).
Elliott has placed 66 of 86 kickoffs into the end zone for no return (76.7 percent).
Last year Elliott was named the American Athletic Conference's Special Teams Player of the Year as well as selected the league's all-conference kicker for a second straight year.
In the classroom, Elliott carries a 3.84 grade point average as a Marketing Management major.
The first-ever recipient of the Lou Groza Award was Memphis' Joe Allison in 1992. Elliott becomes the second Memphis student-athlete in the past three seasons to be invited to The Home Depot College Football Awards. As a senior in 2013, Tom Hornsey was named the winner of the Ray Guy Award.
The other two finalists for the 2015 Groza Award are Auburn's Daniel Carlson and UCLA's Ka'imi Fairbairn.
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