The best kicker of the 2024 college football season hails from Cajun country. Louisiana football player Kenneth Almendares won the 2024 Lou Groza Award on Thursday at the 2024 College Football Awards, earning him the title of best college football kicker in the country.
Throughout the year, the fifth-year senior kicker has been a weapon in the Rabid Cajuns‘, because they knew that when he entered the field, they would leave with a few points. He finished the 2024 regular season making 27 of 29 field goal attempts, with his longest pass coming from 53 yards.
On the path to perfection, Almendares etched his name in UL history by breaking the school record for most career points scored by a kicker (362) and PATs (158) , as well as single-season records for field goals and points. He finished the season on track to maintain a 90% completion average, making things look easy on special teams.
Almendares has been racking up the accolades since the end of the regular season. He was recently named to The Athletic’s 2024 All-America Football Team, Walter Camp All-America First Team and was named All-Sun Belt Conference First Team. He also received weekly SBC honors throughout the season, being named West Division Special Team Player of the Week four times this season.
Almendares is expected to make his final appearance for the Cajuns when they play in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl game against TCU on December 28.
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Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Do you have questions about HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at [email protected].
This article was originally published on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: UL Football’s Kenneth Almendares Wins 2024 Lou Groza Award
