Matt Ruffolo named to Lou Groza Award Watch List
Kentucky kicker Matt Ruffolo is a candidate for college football’s most prestigious place-kicking award. Ruffolo is one of 30 specialists on the Lou Groza Award watch list, an honor given each year to college football’s top field goal kicker.
A super senior for the Wildcats, Ruffolo is a testament to rarely seen perseverance at the position. Last year he drew the ire of the BBN when he missed a field goal against Ole Miss and a PAT that would have extended the game in overtime. Instead of throwing in the towel, Ruffolo was almost perfect for the rest of the season.
In 2020 the Centerville, Oh. native made 12-of-14 field goal attempts and 22-of-23 PATs. He was the SEC’s third-most accurate kicker last year, burying 85.7% of his three-point tries. Ruffolo has made field goals in eight straight games, knocking three through the uprights in the Wildcats’ 23-21 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl win over N.C. State. He set a career-long of 50 yards against Missouri and is 16-of-19 from fields goal range in his UK career.
The Groza Award will shrink its field to 20 semifinalists Nov. 4. The winner will be revealed Dec. 6 on ESPN at The Home Depot College Football Awards.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard