He started his Ohio State football career as a walk-on. Now he is mentioned among the best kickers in the country.
Ohio State walk-on senior Tyler Durbin is one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation's top kicker. The National College Football Awards Association released its list of semifinalists Thursday morning.
Durbin is a perfect 11-of-11 on field goal attempts this season, one of two semifinalists with double-digit tries yet to miss. He is also 42-of-44 on extra point tries and leads the Big Ten with a 9.3 points per game average.
Durbin nailed a game-tying 31-yard field goal with 3:57 left in Ohio State's eventual overtime win at Wisconsin. His season long is 40 yards, which also came against the Badgers.
Three finalists will be announced on Nov. 22 with the winner set to be selected Dec. 8 at ESPN's College Football Awards Show. There are currently 11 former Lou Groza Award winners on NFL rosters.
| PLAYER | SCHOOL | year |
|---|---|---|
| ANDY PHILLIPS | UTAH | SENIOR |
| JAKE ELLIOTT | MEMPHIS | SENIOR |
| ZANE GONZALEZ | ARIZONA STATE | SENIOR |
| JONATHAN BARNES | LOUISIANA TECH | JUNIOR |
| DANIEL CARSON | AUBURN | JUNIOR |
| BEN GROGAN | OKLAHOMA STATE | SENIOR |
| AUSTIN REHKOW | IDAHO | SENIOR |
| JOEL SLYE | VIRGINIA TECH | JUNIOR |
| YOUNGHOE KOO | GEORGIA SOUTHERN | SENIOR |
| TYLER DURBIN | OHIO STATE | SENIOR |
| TYLER DAVIS | PENN STATE | SENIOR |
| KODY KROENING | FRESNO STATE | JUNIOR |
| GARY WUNDERLICH | MISSISSIPPI | JUNIOR |
| PARKER SHAUNFIELD | SOUTHERN MISS | SOPHOMORE |
| JOHN BARON II | SAN DIEGO STATE | SOPHOMORE |
| MATT ANDERSON | CALIFORNIA | JUNIOR |
| LUKE STREBEL | AIR FORCE | JUNIOR |
| EMMIT CARPENTER | MINNESOTA | SOPHOMORE |
*Note: The Award's website says there are 20 semifinalists yet only lists 18 in its news release. We will update the table with the final two names once we figure them out.
