FSU’s Ricky Aguayo Lands on Groza Watch List

The names Aguayo and Groza has been frequently used in the same sentence over the last several years. That’s a trend that will continue.

On Wednesday, Florida State sophomore kicker Ricky Aguayo was named to the preseason Lou Groza Award watch list. The award, which annually goes to the nation’s best kicker, is presented by the Palm Beach Sports Commission.

Since its inception in 1992, FSU has had a kicker take home the honor four times. That includes the only 2-time winner in Sebastian Janikowski, who win the Groza in 1998 and 1999 and Aguayo’s older brother, Roberto Aguayo, who took home the hardware as a redshirt freshman in 2013. Graham Gano won the award in 2008.

In Ricky Aguayo’s first collegiate game, he set an FSU record, going 6-for-6 on field goals in a 45-34 win over Ole Miss. Aguayo finished his freshman year 19-for-26 on field goal attempts with a long of 47 yards.

Aguayo was also 51-for-52 on extra points. His final PAT attempt of 2016 was blocked and returned for two in a 33-32 Orange Bowl victory over Michigan. That was the first miss for an FSU kicker since 2012, ending the longest streak in college football history.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson