The UCLA football team now has five players named to preseason watch lists as junior kicker JJ Molson has made the Lou Groza Award watch list.
If there is anything that we can take away from these preseason award watch lists, it is that the UCLA football team should continue to have an excellent special teams group in 2018.
RELATED: UCLA Football: Stefan Flintoft named to the Ray Guy Award watch list
Today, kicker JJ Molson was named to the Lou Groza Award watch list, an honor given to the best kicker in the nation.
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Molson is the third specialist on the UCLA football team that has had his name on a preseason list after long snapper Johnny Den Bleyker (who made the David Binn Award watch list) and punter Stefan Flintoft (named to the Ray Guy Award watch list).
If anything, there will be efficiency and consistency with special teams going into next season.
The award is named after Groza who has been named one of the greatest kickers to play the sport. According to their site, “This Watch List is determined based on statistics from the previous season and preseason expectations.”
And with that in mind, considering what Molson achieved last year, he is surely considered to be one of the top kickers in the nation, at least according to this watch list.
Last season, Molson connected on 17/21 field goals (80.9%) with a long of 45 yards. Molson was also 11th in the conference in scoring (among all players to score) with 7.7 per game.
Though the Bruins should be effective in scoring points on offense with Chip Kelly in charge, they have insurance with Molson in control of the kicking game.
Look 👀 who’s on the @LouGrozaAward Watch List! Congrats JJ!!!#GoBruins | #8Clap pic.twitter.com/549ZVOp4jP
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) July 25, 2018
Hopefully, by season’s end, he will prove that he is worthy of the award, just like former Bruin kickers Ka’Imi Fairbairn and Kai Forbath who won the award in 2015 and 2009, respectively. Congratulations on the honor, JJ!