Twelve ACC Kickers Are on the Watch Lists

As we end the first week of pre-season watch list releases, we head to the kickers. Twelve ACC kickers are on the watch lists for the Lou Groza Award and the Ray Guy Award.

The Augusta Sports Council placed five ACC kickers on the pre-season watch list for the Ray Guy Award, given to the best punter in the country.

ACC Punters

Lachlan Wilson, Cal, Redshirt Senior

Alex Mastromanno, Florida State, Redshirt Senior

Daniel Sparks, Virginia, Fifth Year

Peter Moore, Virginia Tech, Redshirt Senior

Ivan Mora, Wake Forest, Redshirt Senior

The Particulars

There are 33 names on the initial watch list. The current list is comprised based on the 2023 Ray Guy Award Semifinalist List, the top 10 NCAA Punters from 2023, 2023 all-conference teams, 2023 All-American teams, the 2024 preseason all-conference teams, and eligible punters that were on the 2023 watch list.

More candidates can and will be added as the season goes on, based on on-field performance. The complete list of candidates will be released on November 6. After that, the voting panel will narrow the list to 10 candidates on November 15^th.

A national body of FBS sports information directors, media representatives, and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on November 26.

The winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards in mid-December.

The entire pre-season watch list can be seen here.

ACC Placekickers

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission was also heard from Friday. They put out the preseason watch list for the 2024 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award. It includes seven Atlantic Coast Conference kickers. There are 30 names total on the pre-season watch list.

The ACC contenders on the list are:

Todd Pelino, Duke, Junior

Ryan Fitzgerald, Florida State, Senior

Aidan Birr, Georgia Tech, Sophomore

Andres Borregales, Miami, Senior

Noah Burnette, North Carolina, Senior

Will Bettridge, Virginia, Junior

John Love, Virginia Tech, Sophomore

Players can be added to the list as the season goes along. The list will be pared down to 20 semifinalists on November 19^th. Three finalists will be selected a week later. The winner will be announced during ESPN’s Home Depot College Football Awards show.

The voting panel consists of FBS head coaches, sports information directors, members of the media, and past Groza winners.

The entire pre-season watch list can be seen here.

Tony Siracusa (CFB Managing Editor)

Tony has been with Last Word on Sports for seven years covering college football around the country. A native of Southern California, now living in North Carolina, he has been working in broadcast, print and digital media for nearly 30 years. He is on the Board of Directors for the Football Writers Association of America. He is an FWAA All-American team voter. Tony is also a voting panelist for the Outland Trophy, the Nagurski Award, the Lombardi, and the Biletnikoff Award. He is also a CFB Hall of Fame voter. He can also be found on twitter @tonybruin