Oct. 28, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - Penn State's Anthony Fera (Cypress, Texas) is among the 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Place-kicker Award, presented annually to the college football's top placekicker by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission.
Former Nittany Lion Collin Wagner was a Groza Award semifinalist last year.
In his first year as the Nittany Lions' placekicker, Fera has been nearly automatic during this season. In his five games since taking over the field goal duties, Fera has connected on 11-of-12 field goals, with a career long of 40 yards, and has made all 12 of his PAT attempts.
The redshirt sophomore, who also handles the punting and kickoff duties, earned Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors following victories against Purdue and Indiana earlier this month.
For the season, Fera is averaging 43.6 yards on his 31 punts, with nine landing inside the 20. He is ranked third in the Big Ten in punting average. He leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage (91.7 percent) and is third in the conference at 1.57 fgpg. Fera leads the team with 45 points.
A prep American at St. Pius X, Fera is the first Nittany Lion since Chris Bahr in 1975 to be the starter for field goals, kick offs and punts.
The award, which is celebrating its 20th season in 2011, is named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Famer Lou Groza, who played 21 seasons for the Cleveland Browns.
The winner of the 2011 Lou Groza Award will be revealed as part of the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show, which is scheduled for Dec. 8. The formal presentation of the award will be made at the 20th Annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet in West Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 6.
Penn State (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) owns a six-game winning streak and hosts Illinois (6-2, 2-2) on Saturday (Oct. 29) in a pivotal Big Ten Leaders Division clash. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Beaver Stadium and the game will be televised on ABC (ESPN2 in outer markets). The clash also will air on the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com.
Tickets are available for the Illinois game and can be purchased at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets or at the Beaver Stadium Ticket Office near Gate E starting at 11:30 a.m. on gameday.