WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Washington State redshirt-sophomore Blake Mazza was named a Lou Groza Award Finalist, the Palm Beach County Sport Commission announced Monday.

Mazza is one of three kickers up for the award given to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker and is the first Cougar to be named a finalist for the award in program history.

The Plano, Texas native who was named the Midseason All-America Second Team by The Athletic, entered the week tied for the second-most points (105) by a kicker in the country, tied for ninth in the country with a Pac-12 Conference best 51 PAT and tied for No. 12 in the country with a Pac-12 leading 18 made field goals. Mazza is 18-for-19 on field goal attempts after making his first 18 attempts of the season, the longest consecutive made field goal streak in program history. Mazza owns a pair of 50-yard field goals (50 against New Mexico State, career-long 51-yarder at Utah), tied for fourth-most 50-yard kicks in the country.

The finalists will be honored at the 28th annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet on December 9th in Palm Beach County. The same panel then selects the winner, who will be announced live on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Thursday, Dec. 12.

The Award is named for National Football League Hall of Fame kicker Lou "The Toe" Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Although an All-Pro offensive lineman as well, Groza ushered in the notion that there should be a place on an NFL roster for a kicker.

Since the first Lou Groza Award was handed out in 1992, 27 finalists, including 15 winners, have gone on to appear in the NFL, earning 10 trips to the Pro Bowl and taking home six Super Bowls. That list includes 2019 NFL kickers Dan Bailey, Randy Bullock, Daniel Carlson, Mason Crosby, Jake Elliott, Ka'imi Fairbairn, Graham Gano, Matt Gay, Zane Gonzalez, Dustin Hopkins, Mike Nugent, and Cairo Santos.