USC Kicker Caden Chittenden Named to 2025 Lou Groza Award Watch List

LOS ANGELES–USC sophomore kicker Caden Chittenden has been named to the 2025 Lou Groza Place-Kicker Award Watch List, as we speak (Aug. 1). The Lou Groza Award celebrates the nation’s high collegiate place-kicker. 

Among the gamers on the Watch List are all 11 returning FBS kickers who made greater than 20 area objectives final season, and Chittenden is tied for the lead on that listing with 26. 

Chittenden has additionally been named to the 2025 Walter Camp Preseason All-America Second Team.

Chittenden, who transferred to USC within the spring of 2025 from UNLV, was one of many nation’s high kickers as a freshman in 2024. He gained a plethora of awards together with being named First Team True Freshman All-American by 247Sports, Second Team Freshman All-American by The Athletic, College Football Network Honorable Mention All-American, College Football Network Freshman Specialist of the Year, College Football Network Freshman Kicker of the Year and Mountain West Freshman of the Year. 

 

He earned placement on the All-Mountain West First Team and was the primary freshman from UNLV named to the All-Mountain West First Team since 2006. He was additionally a semifinalist for the 2024 Lou Groza Award and a three-time Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week, in addition to a three-time Mountain West Freshman of the Week.

 

Chittenden shattered the Mountain West and UNLV single-season report for area objectives by a freshman (26). He led the nation in scoring amongst all kickers with 133, which tied for probably the most in UNLV historical past. He tied the UNLV report for area objectives in a season by making 26-of-33 makes an attempt on the 12 months. He additionally tied a faculty report 55-of-56 additional factors. He hit a season-long 52-yard area purpose in a rainstorm win at San Jose State. 

 

Chittenden additionally dealt with kickoff duties. He completed the season ranked No. 2 within the nation in area objectives per sport (1.86), No. 7 within the nation in whole factors scored amongst all positions (133) and No. 11 within the nation in scoring (9.5).

Accomplishments are tabulated all through the season and the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award will announce its 20 semifinalists on Nov. 18. From this listing, a panel of greater than 100 FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists, and present NFL kickers selects the highest three finalists for the award, introduced on Nov. 25. That similar group then selects the nationwide winner, who can be introduced on Dec. 12 in the course of the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.

The 34^th Annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, offered by the Orange Bowl, acknowledges the three finalists throughout a celebration in Palm Beach County, culminating with a gala awards banquet on Dec. 8 in West Palm Beach, Florida.  

The Award is known as 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 needs to be a spot on an NFL roster for a kicker.