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WEST PALM BEACH, FL. – Sophomore kicker Tyler Bitancurt has been named to the 2010 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Watch List.

	Tyler Bitancurt

Kickers nominated to the list were chosen based on statistics from the 2009 season as well as 2010 pre-season expectations. Fifteen semi-finalists have returned from 2009, including last year’s award recipient Kai Forbath. The PAC Ten currently leads all FBS conferences with six nominated players, while the ACC and SEC each have five. Nominated players will be monitored by the Groza committee over the next two months, and a “Stars of the Week” feature will be released weekly on www.lougrozaaward.com.

The Groza committee will announce its 20 semi-finalists on Friday, October 29, 2010. A panel of over 300 experts will then select the top three finalists for the award from this list, with the winner being announced during the 2010 Home Depot ESPNU College Football Award Show.

The award is named after NFL Hall of Fame kicker Lou “The Toe” Groza, who spent 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns (1946-1959, 1961-1967) and won four NFL Championships during his time there. Despite playing as an offensive lineman, Groza helped establish the notion that NFL rosters should include a kicker.

Selected first-team all-BIG EAST by the league coaches, ESPN.com, The Sporting News, and rivals.com, Bitancurt had a solid 2009 season, hitting 13-of-15 field goals (86.7 percent) including a game-winner against Pitt as time expired. He was ranked No. 5 in the BIG EAST for field goals made per game, and No. 3 in point after attempt percentage.

The Mountaineers open their season on Saturday, Sept. 4, when they play host to Coastal Carolina at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium at 3:30 p.m.