Football Kicker Myers Named to Mitchell Award Watch List
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.- Junior kicker Matt Myers is among 40 players on the Watch List for the Fred Mitchell Award that includes the Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, III and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) collegiate place-kickers that were nominated by their colleges for excellence on the football field and in the community.
Myers, who hails from Corona, Calif., was an honorable mention Preseason All-American selection by Consensus Draft Services. He scored 87 points in 2009 from 17 of 24 field goals and 36 of 36 point-after attempts. He was named to the 2009 All-Big Sky Second Team at kicker. He made a key field goal at the end of regulation to force overtime against Montana and was 6 of 8 on his attempts of 40 or more yards including season-long 51-yard field goal against Eastern Washington. Myers participated in Red Ribbon Week volunteer events as a community drug-free campaign speaker at local elementary schools.
The annual Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award (also known as the Fred Mitchell Award) is provided to the nation’s top collegiate place-kicker among more than 600 FCS, Division II, III and NAIA football teams. The Award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community. The Award’s Watch List is released in August, top performers are recognized monthly during the college football season, and the winner (who is not required to be on the Watch List) is announced in mid-December. The school of the Award winner receives scholarship funds and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented in February at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.
The Award’s Selection Committee Chairman Chris Kearney said, “These place-kickers are terrific on the football field and off the field representing their schools, their football teams, their conferences, their communities, their families and themselves. We look forward to following their accomplishments during the next few months.”
The Watch List includes place-kickers from more than 600 eligible colleges. Fred Mitchell said, “It is a pleasure to include these fine young men on the Watch List for this Award. We are delighted to recognize them based on outstanding performance in the community and expectations going into the 2010 college football season.”
A blue-ribbon Selection Committee evaluates place-kickers that are nominated by their schools. There are nine members of the Pro and/or College Football Hall of Fame on the Selection Committee including Tom Beck, George Blanda, Kevin Butler, Lou Holtz, Paul Hornung, Marv Levy, Steve McMichael, Don Pierson and Gale Sayers. Several former football players that are active in their communities are also on the Selection Committee including Carl Allegretti, Sean Gothier, Dan Jiggetts, Jeff Michalczyk, Mark Murphy, Rob Perry, Jeff Schebler, Bob Thomas, Todd Wilkins, Gary Zauner and Rob Zvonar. There are nine former college or NFL place-kickers on the Selection Committee, including Schebler, the 2009 Fred Mitchell Award recipient and the highest-scoring place-kicker in NCAA history at any level.
The breakdown of the 40 place-kickers is as follows:
- Collegiate Division – 15 FCS, 8 Division II, 12 Division III and 5 NAIA
- State – the place-kickers play at schools located in 24 different states led by Pennsylvania (8 place-kickers), no other state has more than 3 place-kickers on the Watch List
- Year – 21 Seniors, 14 Juniors, 5 Sophomores
- Fred Mitchell Award Finalists in 2009 that are on the 2010 Watch List - 12
