Illinois senior punter Anthony Santella and junior Derek Dimke received award recognitions Friday. Santella was one of 51 candidates for the 2010 Ray Guy Award, and Dimke was named one of 20 semifinalists for the 2010 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by Discover Orange Bowl.
Santella is one of the four Big Ten punters, along with Michigan State’s Aaron Bates, Iowa’s Ryan Donahue and Wisconsin’s Brad Nortman. Dimke is one of four Big Ten kickers, along with Michigan State’s Dan Conroy, Ohio State’s Devin Barclay and Penn State’s Collin Wagner.
Santella is one of the nation’s best punters in his senior campaign, averaging 46.5 yards per punt, which ranks fifth in the country. He also is averaging a net of 41.45 yards per punt, which is the fourth-best in the nation. Santella also has recorded 11 punts of 50-plus yards and 10 inside the 20-yard line in 2010.
Dimke has a strong season, scoring a team-high 59 points on 14-of-16 field goal attempts and 17-of-17 PATs. He made 2-of-3 kicks from over 50 yards, including a career-long 52-yarder against Missouri in Illinois’ season-opener. He also made 10 consecutive field goals from Oct. 2-23, tying the third-longest streak in school history. He was a Lou Groza Award Star of the Week on Oct. 11 after making 4-of-4 field goals at Penn State. The Rockford, Ill., native averaged a career-best 65.9 yards per kick with 15 touchbacks, which doubles his career touchbacks coming into the 2010 season.
The last Illini punter to be named to the Ray Guy Award list was Steve Weatherford in 2004, while kicker Jason Reda was the last Illini to be named a Lou Groza Award semifinalist in 2007.
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The 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award will be announced on Nov. 12. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision sports information directors, coaches, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will select the three finalists to be announced Nov. 22. The Ray Guy Award will be presented as part of The Home Depot College Football Awards Show Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
All the Division I head coaches, sports information directors and football writers, will select the Groza Award finalists. The three finalists will be selected by Nov. 2. And the winner will be announced during The Home Depot College Football Awards Show Dec. 9.
