CHris Freeman Named a Lou Groza Semifinalist

STORRS, CT –  UConn placekicker Chris Freeman (Zionsville, IN) has been named a semifinalist for the 2025 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award offered by the Orange Bowl and introduced by The Palm Beach County Sports Commission on Monday.

Freeman is 20-of-23 on area aim makes an attempt this season and prefect on all 45 further level tries. He ranks fourth within the NCAA in complete factors scored (105) and tenth in area objectives per sport (1.82). Freeman hit a third-quarter 45-yard area aim at Rice to mark his Twelfth-straight make to set a brand new career-best mark and a brand new UConn college file. Freeman made 11-straight final season, tying the earlier mark set by Dave Teggart in 2011. Freeman buried each of his area aim makes an attempt at Buffalo together with a season-long 44-yard make with :06 seconds left to raise UConn over the Bulls. It marked the primary area aim to win a sport within the closing seconds because the 2016 season when a Bobby Puyol 37-yard make with :11 seconds left led UConn over Maine at dwelling, 24-21

Freeman is one in all 20 candidates and is joined by Aidan Birr (Georgia Tech), Trey Butkowski (Pittsburgh), Lucas Carneiro (Ole Miss), Dom Dzioban (Miami OH), Stone Harrington (Texas Tech), Jackson Kleather (Bowling Green), Luca Lombardo (Boston College), Laith Marjan (Kansas), Kansei Matsuzawa (Hawaii), Gabriel Plascencia (San Diego State), Nico Radicic (Indiana), Damian Ramos (LSU), Noe Ruelas (UCF), Ethan Sanchez (Houston), Tate Sandell (Oklahoma), Ryon Sayeri (USC), Trey Smack (Florida), Gianni Spetic (Memphis) and Peyton Woodring (Georgia)

Semifinalists can be voted on by a panel of greater than 100 FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists, and present NFL kickers to pick the three finalists. These finalists can be introduced on November 25^th and honored on the 34^th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on December 8^th in Palm Beach County. The similar panel then selects the winner, who can be introduced dwell on ESPN on the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Friday, December 12^th.

The Award is called for National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou “The Toe” Groza, who performed 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza gained 4 NFL championships with Cleveland and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Although an All-Pro offensive lineman as nicely, Groza ushered within the notion that there ought to be a spot on an NFL roster for a kicker.

Since the primary Lou Groza Award was handed out in 1992, 33 finalists, together with 17 winners, have gone on to seem within the NFL, incomes 13 journeys to the Pro Bowl and taking dwelling 8 Super Bowls. That record consists of 2025 NFL kickers Daniel Carlson Jake Elliott, Ka’imi Fairbairn, Ryan Fitzgerald, Graham Gano, Matt Gay, Zane Gonzalez, Joshua Karty, Younghoe Koo, Jake Moody, Will Reichard, Cairo Santos and Andre Szmyt.

For extra info relating to the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, please go to LouGrozaAward.com, or comply with @LouGrozaAward on X/Twitter for updates as they occur.  Additional info could be obtained by contacting Jared Fleet, Director of Event Operations on the Palm Beach County Sports Commission at (561) 233-3120 or [email protected].