LOGAN, Utah – Utah State senior placekicker Dominik Eberle has been named to the Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicker Award watch list for the 2019 season, it was announced Wednesday by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission.
Eberle is one of 30 players on the preseason watch list, joining defending Lou Groza winner in Syracuse sophomore Andre Szmyt. Additionally, he is one of three Mountain West players to make the list, along with Cooper Rothe of Wyoming and Ryan Meskell of Hawai'i.
Along with being named to the Lou Groza Watch List, Eberle has also been named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, a preseason fourth-team All-American by Athlon Sports and preseason second-team all-Mountain West by both Athlon Sports and Phil Steele's Magazine.
Eberle, a 6-foot-2, 195-pounder from Nuremberg, Germany (Redondo Union (Calif.) HS), earned honorable mention all-Mountain West honors from the league's coaches and third-team all-MW honors from Phil Steele's Magazine after serving as the team's placekicker in all 13 games as a junior. He was also named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award as the nation's top placekicker in 2018 as he set a single-season school record by scoring 141 points. For the season, he was 22-for-28 on field goals and 75-for-75 on extra points, setting the school record for PATs made and attempted in a single season. He also set the single-season school record for points per game (10.8), which ranked fourth nationally.
Eberle had the best game of his career against New Mexico State during his junior season as he tied the NCAA record for points scored by a kicker with 24, and 50-yard field goals made in a single game with three.
Eberle also earned third-team All-America honors from Phil Steele's Magazine, honorable mention All-America honors from SB Nation and first-team all-Mountain West honors, along with being named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award as a sophomore in 2017, as he finished the season scoring a team-best 101 points as he was a perfect 47-of-47 on extra points and 18-of-24 (.750) on field goals.
Heading into his senior campaign, Eberle ranks second all-time in school history in field goals made (43) and fourth all-time in field goals attempted (57) and is third all-time in field goal percentage (.754). He has also scored 251 points in his career to rank fourth all-time in school history, including third all-time among kickers and is the only player in school history to have four or more 50-yard field goals in a career.
Off the field, Eberle has twice earned academic all-Mountain West honors as he will receive his bachelor's degree from USU this academic year in international business and marketing. He also spends countless hours working with various groups/organizations on campus and in the community.
The award is given annually to the nation's top collegiate placekicker as determined by a voting panel of Division 1 head coaches, sports writers and sportscasters from across the country, conference representatives, professional kickers and previous winners.
The recipient of the 2019 Jim Thorpe Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 12, on ESPN.
Utah State returns nine starters (O-2, D-7) as part of 32 letterwinners (O-13, D-17, S-2), including two All-Americans and eight players that earned various all-Mountain West honors, from last year's team that ended the season ranked 21st in the final Amway Coaches poll and 22nd in the final AP poll as the Aggies tied the school record for wins and best record with an 11-2 mark following their 52-13 win against North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl.
Utah State opens the 2019 season on Friday, Aug. 30, at Wake Forest, and begins the home portion of its schedule the following weekend against Stony Brook on Saturday, Sept. 7. Mountain West play begins for the Aggies at San Diego State on Saturday, Sept. 21.
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
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