Lincoln - For senior Brett
Maher, Wednesday was his day in the preseason spotlight, as he was named to the
preseason watch lists for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award and the
Ray Guy Award.
Maher
is one of only two kicking specialists in college football on both the Groza
and Guy Award watch lists, joining Oklahoma State's Quinn Sharp.
In
2011, Maher became the first Big Ten specialist to be named the all-conference
place-kicker and punter in the same year since 2001, winning both the
Bakken-Andersen Big Ten Kicker-of-the-Year and the Eddleman-Fields Big Ten
Punter-of-the-Year awards.
On
the year, Maher connected on 19-of-23 field goals, including 16-of-17 from
inside 50-yards. His 19 field goals ranked tied for second in school history,
trailing only All-American Alex Henery's mark of 24 set in 2009. Maher had
three field goals of 50 or more yards, including a 51-yarder at Michigan. He
was also 43-of-44 on PAT attempts, as he totaled 100 points on the season.
As
a punter, he was 10th nationally and led the Big Ten with an average of 44.5
yards per kick. He had 20 kicks of at least 50 yards and pinned opponents
inside the 20-yard line on 24 of his 59 punts.
Both
the Ray Guy and Groza awards will be presented at the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Award Show on Dec. 6.
