Thursday, Nebraska football kicker Drew Brown and punter Sam Foltz were both honored by receiving a place on a preseason watch list.
Brown was one of the mere 30 players that was named to the Lou Groza Award watch list which is an award given to the nation’s top kicker. Foltz on the other hand was named on the Ray Guy Award’s watch list along with 26 others vying to be named the best punter. These two nominations are a huge honor for these two players, but also to Nebraska Football as a whole.
With these two being recognized for their achievements, many are starting to think that Nebraska Football’s special teams could be a real game changer this season.
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Last year, we saw both these players show their true ability to lead the team to success. Brown is returning as a member of the second-team All-Big Ten and last season made 21 out of the 27 field goals. Foltz is returning this season as the Big Ten Punter of the Year, a member of the first team all-conference, and last season showed great skill averaging 44.2 yards a punt, along with 50 career punts that were at least 50 yards.
Only one other Husker has ever been named to the Ray Guy Award, Kyle Larson in 2003, but he did not win it. Along with this, no Nebraska Football player has ever won the Groza Award.
These two nominations provide great promise for our team this season, specifically our special teams. If these two can lead our special teams to success, there is a great chance that this will also help our team as a whole to do well.
We have already seen some great potential coming from our team with our new recruits and new players stepping up to the plate, so I, along with every Husker fan are dying to see what the boys are going to bring to the field in the fall.
Also, the watch lists for national awards are going to continue being announced until July 15, with two more coming on Friday (Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy). So hopefully we can see more Nebraska Football players be named to these lists.
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While some may be skeptical of Riley’s ability as a coach, questioning whether or not he could create a team of successful players, obviously he is doing something right by being able to produce two great players like Foltz and Brown.