Slye tabbed to Groza Award Watch List

Senior kicker also nominated for 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team

July 12, 2017

BLACKSBURG – Senior kicker Joey Slye has been named to the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Watch List, the award’s committee announced Wednesday. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top kicker.

There are 30 names on the list and Slye is one of only three active kickers to be named a semifinalist for the award twice. Slye shares that distinction with Daniel Varlson of Auburn and Jonathan Barnes of Louisiana Tech.

The Stafford, Virginia native was named first-team All-ACC by the league’s coaches last season after finishing first in the ACC with 118 points among kickers and third with 20 field goals made. His six made field goals at Pitt on Oct. 27 tied a conference record and his 21 points were the most by a Hokies’ kicker in a single game. Slye led the nation with 73 touchbacks last season and is also the ACC’s active career leader in field goals with 63.

Slye currently ranks third in program history behind Lee Suggs and fellow kicker Shayne Graham, respectively, with 321 career points. He’s also five field goals away from tying Graham’s career record of 68.

The Lou Groza Award is presented by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns player Lou Groza.

Slye is also a nominee for the 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, one of the most prestigious off-the-field honors in college football. College football's top community service honor awards student-athletes for their outstanding community service achievements and commitment to giving back.

In 2014, Slye’s older brother, A.J., died at the age of 20 after a valiant 14-month battle with leukemia.True to Virginia Tech’s spirit of Ut Prosim, Slye has been active is honoring his brother’s memory by working with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In April, he hosted a fundraiser at Tech’s Indoor Practice Facility that coincided with a “Be The Match” event – a group that collects swabs of people’s cheeks of those possibly interested in donating bone marrow. The event fits in perfectly with Slye’s focus since many with leukemia or other blood cancers need bone marrow transplants.

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