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Fred Mitchell Award celebrates placekickers for excellence – 2024 Kickoff Watch List

The Fred Mitchell Award recognizes 61 placekickers for their excellence on the football field throughout the 2024 season and for their off-field contributions throughout the year. We’re excited to help celebrate their achievements as shared by their schools and coaches.

The Fred Mitchell Award will recognize kickers that were nominated by their schools or are at the top of their division for terrific performances through November 23, 2024 (regular season statistics only). The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be announced in mid-December based on performance on the football field and in the community.

“The Kickoff Watch List for the 2024 Fred Mitchell Award includes exceptional kickers with exemplary community service records,” Mitchell said. “I am eager to watch kickers from all the eligible non-FBS colleges prove that great kickers come from all divisions of college football. Good luck to all.”

Each month our 37-person committee, led by co-chairmen Rob Perry and Matt Cotiguala, will recognize performances by kickers leading up to the end of the season when Top 10 finalists will be announced and then the winner in early December. The winner will receive the Fred Mitchell Award trophy in February during a ceremony at the Chicago Bears training facility in Lake Forest, Ill.

The breakdown of the 61 placekickers is as follows:

  • 11 returning list members
  • 2 previous list members transferred to FBS programs
  • Collegiate Division – 14 FCS, 18 Division II, 19 Division III, 6 NAIA, 3 NJCAA, and 1 3C2A
  • Year – 6 graduate students, 22 seniors, 21 juniors, 9 sophomores, and 2 freshman

In alphabetical order, the Fred Mitchell Award Preseason nominees for the 2024 season are listed below:

SEBASTIAN AMORRORTU – Junior
Minnesota State University Moorhead – DII

CHRISTOPHER BALDAZO – Sophomore
Kilgore Junior College (Texas) – National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)

MIKE BALOGA
SUNY Cortland – DIII

ANTHONY BEITKO – Senior
California University (Pa.) – NCAA Division II (DII)

GERRIT BLODGETT – Junior
Texas Wesleyan University – National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)

MACK BOEKHOUT – Junior
Peru State College (Neb.) – NAIA

DANIEL BURGOS – Senior
California Lutheran University – NCAA Division III (DIII)

TRACE BUTCHER – Junior
Emory & Henry College (Va.) – DII

MASON CAMPBELL
Bentley University (Massachusetts) – D-II 

CHRIS CAMPOS
Stephen F Austin University – FCS

JUSTIN CAPUTO – Junior
Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) – DIII

JOTHEM CASEY – Junior
Bowdoin College (Maine) – DIII

CHRISTIAN CASILLAS – Sophomore
College of DuPage (Ill.) – NJCAA

NICO CAVANILLAS – Sophomore
Keiser University (Fla.) – NAIA

CHRISTIAN COLASURDO
Susquehanna University – DIII 

CURTIS COX – Graduate Student
University of Minnesota – Duluth – DII

GRIFFIN CROSA – Graduate Student
North Dakota State University – Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)

SETH DEATON – Senior
Ferrum College (Va.) – DIII

ZACH DENNIE
Northeast Mississippi Community College – NJCAA

SHANE DUNNING – Senior
Drake University (Iowa) – FCS

HUNTER DUSTMAN – Senior
South Dakota State University – FCS

OWEN FORSYTHE – Junior
Gustavus Adolphus College (Mn.) – DIII

ETHAN GETTMAN – Graduate Student
Villanova University (Pa.) – FCS

BRANDON GIELOW – Senior
Davenport University (Mich.) – DII

NOAH GUASTELLA – Graduate Student
Northwest Missouri State University – FCS

NICK HERBER Senior
Delta State – DII

THIEN HOANG – Sophomore
Lewis and Clark College (Ore.) – DIII

MATTHEW JAEGER – Junior
Minnesota State University Mankato – DII

SATCHEL JOHNSON – Freshman
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire – DIII

MATTHEW JUMES – Senior
Trinity College (Conn.) – DIII

BRADLEY LARSON – Senior
Angelo State University (Texas) – FCS

ANDREW LASTOVKA – Junior
Youngstown State University (Ohio) – FCS

WILL LEYLAND – Junior
University of South Dakota – FCS

LEO MARINI – Senior
Wayland Baptist University (Texas) – NAIA

LIAM McCARTHY – Graduate Student
Benedictine University (Ill.) – DIII

TRENT McDOWELL
Millersville University (Pa.) – DII

TOBY McTAMNEY
Illinois College – DIII

JOHN MEARS
Montana Western University – NAIA

MARCUS MERKELBACH
Carleton College (Minn.) – DIII

GRIFFIN MILOVANSKI
Wayne State University (Mich.) – DII

MATT MIRTON – Sophomore
San Jose City College (Calif.) – California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A)

BRADY MYERS
Virginia Union University – DII

BRETT MONEY – Junior
Northwestern State University (La.) – FCS

ALEJANDRO MORILLON-GARCIA – Sophomore
Johnson C. Smith University (N.C.) – DII

RYAN PATTISON – Senior
Widener University (Pa.) – DIII

KYLE REHBERG – Senior
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.) – DII

JOAQUIN RODRIGUEZ
Texas Lutheran University – DIII

AUSTIN SCHMITT – Sophomore
Pittsburgh State University (Pa.) – DII

GABRIEL SHOWALTER – Junior
Nicholls State University (La.) – FCS

DAMIEN SILUS – Senior
Concordia College Moorhead (Mn.) – DIII

SETH SIMPSON – Sophomore
Baker University (Kan.) – NAIA

MICHAEL STACK – Junior
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse – DIII

LOGAN SUNVOLD – Fifth Year Senior
Central College (Iowa) – DIII

KYLE THOMPSON – Senior
Weber State University (Utah) – FCS

LOGAN TURNER – Senior
Southwest Baptist University (Mo.) – DII

KEEGAN VAUGHAN – Senior
Towson University (Md.) – FCS

IAN WAGNER – Junior
Illinois State University – FCS

NATHAN WANGENSTEEN – Junior
Augsburg University (Mn.) – DII

TOBIAS WEFERING – Senior
Hobart College (N.Y.) – DIII

BRITTON WILLIAMS – Junior
Kennesaw State University (Ga.) – FCS

DREW WYBLE – Senior Michigan Technological University – DII

VIEW STATS AND BIOS ON WATCH LIST PLAYERS