COLUMBIA, Mo. – The awards keep rolling in for Mizzou Football as the Tigers have won five of six games entering Saturday’s contest with Georgia. On Monday it was announced that junior LB Nick Bolton (Frisco, Texas) and freshman K Harrison Mevis (Warsaw, Ind.) have been named semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Lou Groza award, respectively. The Bednarik Award goes to college football’s top defensive player and the Groza goes to the nation’s top place kicker.
Bolton, already a semifinalist for the Butkus Award which his presented annually to the top linebacker, leads the team in tackles and ranked 23rd nationally and 13th in Power 5 in tackles per game. He was the National Defensive Player of the Week following Mizzou’s win over LSU and was the SEC Defensive Player of the Week following Mizzou’s win over Kentucky. He is one of 18 semifinalists and one of three from the SEC.
Semifinalist voting for both of the Bednarik Award will begin on Tuesday Dec. 8 and will close on Dec. 20. Three finalists will be announced on Dec 21 and a finalist round of voting will take place at that time. Eligible voters include Maxwell Football Club members, NCAA head football coaches, sports information directors and selected national media. The winner of the 26th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show, which will be broadcast live on ESPN on January 7, 2021.
Mevis, fresh off of his SEC Special Teams Player of the Week performance against Arkansas, is one of 20 semifinalists for the Groza Award. He leads the nation in field goals per game and is fourth nationally with his 16 makes, which includes three from 50+ yards. Semifinalists will be voted on by a panel of more than 100 FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists, and current NFL kickers to select the three finalists. These finalists will be announced on December 22nd and honored at the 29th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Virtual Awards Celebration, streamed live on January 4th on lougrozaaward.com. The same panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Thursday, January 7th.
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Mizzou will return home next Saturday for a Dec. 12 tilt with SEC East Division rival Georgia. The game will kick at 11 a.m. on SEC Network.
