Texas Tech junior Clayton Hatfield was named Wednesday morning to the watch list for the Lou Groza Award, which is presented annually to the top place kicker in college football.
Hatfield, who was also recognized earlier this morning on the All-Big 12 preseason team, is one of 30 kickers nationally named to the watch list, which was announced by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. This is the second-consecutive season Hatfield has made the watch list.
One of the most accurate kickers in college football, Hatfield enters his third season at Tech’s primary kicking specialist after drilling 13-of-14 field goal attempts a year ago. He heads into the 2017 season having made each of his last 11 attempts, the longest streak in school history.
Hatfield, an All-Big 12 second team selection by ESPN in 2016, ranked fourth nationally and second in the Big 12 with a 92.9 field-goal percentage that was the highest in Tech single-season history. He was a perfect 10-for 10 on field goals during league play as his lone miss on the year came on a 40-yard attempt against Louisiana Tech.
The Boerne, Texas native has combined to successfully nail 90 percent of his field goal attempts (27-for-30) over his career, which ranks fourth among active kickers heading into the 2017 season. Most impressively, all three of his misses during his career have come on attempts of at least 40 yards.
In addition, Hatfield is closing in on placing his name into the Tech all-time record book as he needs one more field goal to tie Brian Hall (1974-77) for 10th all-time in program history. Hatfield already ranks fourth all-time at Tech with 118 career point-after-attempts.
The Lou Groza Award will cut its list to 20 semifinalists on Nov. 2 before selecting three finalists on Nov. 21. The 26th recipient of the Lou Groza Award will be announced during the Home Depot College Football Award Show held on Dec. 7.
COURTESY OF TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS
