Christofilakos Named Lou Groza Award Semifinalist
October 30, 2001 | Football
Oct. 30, 2001
University of Illinois placekicker Peter Christofilakos has been named to the 20-man semifinal list for the 2001 Lou Groza Award, which honors the nation's best collegiate kicker. The award, which is presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl, will be given out during a ceremony on Tuesday, December 4, at the Sheraton West Palm Beach Hotel at City Place in West Palm Beach, Fla. Christofilakos and Purdue's Travis Dorsch are the only two kickers representing the Big Ten Conference.
Christofilakos took over the Illinois' placekicking duties in the Illini's win over Louisville with a 30-yard field goal and two PATs. He is currently a perfect 9 for 9 on field goals attempts and 13 for 13 on extra points. He leads the team in scoring with 5.71 points per game and ranks second in the Big Ten with 1.29 field goals per contest. Christofilakos was also named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for his part in a school-record five field goal performance against Wisconsin.
The award, now in its 10th year, is named for NFL Hall-of-Fame kicker Lou Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Nicknamed "The Toe," Groza was one of the first people to truly make kicking an art form, and he helped usher in to football the idea that a player could be used exclusively for kicking.
