CHICAGO - Illinois State senior placekicker Steven Fetzer capped off a solid month by being recognized as one of 32 place-kickers for their excellence on the football field and in the community during the month of September by The Fred Mitchell Award selection committee Friday.
"Place-kickers played a pivotal role in many games during the first month of the college football season. There were extraordinary performances, and we are delighted to honor these fine young men that were nominated by their schools, several of which are also nationally-ranked," Fred Mitchell said.
Fetzer was one of 11 kickers from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to be recognized by the committee for his performance in September for Illinois State. The senior from Mahomet, Ill., ranks second on the team in scoring with 32 points and has made 7-of-10 field goal attempts through the first four games of the season. Last weekend against Missouri State, Fetzer kicked a 39-yard FG in double overtime to beat the Bears 44-41 and also made a career-long 51-yard field goal in the game to finish with 12 points scored. He is currently tied for ninth in the country in field goals made per game with 1.75 and is tied for 27th nationally in scoring with eight points per game.
His performance against Missouri State earned Fetzer his second career Missouri Valley Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honor and recognition as a one of five College Sporting News All-Stars for the fourth week of FCS play. In addition to his work on the field, Fetzer has also volunteered for the local Habitat for Humanity ISU/IWU campus chapter and participates in State Farm's Just Read program at local elementary schools.
The annual Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award (also known as the Fred Mitchell Award) is provided to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker among more than 600 FCS, Division II, III and NAIA football teams. The award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist.
The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community and will be announced in mid-December. The school of the award winner receives scholarship funds and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented on February 21, 2010, at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.
Fetzer and the No. 19 Redbirds return to the field Saturday, Oct. 2, against conference and in-state rival No. 23 Southern Illinois. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Hancock Stadium.
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