Tag: Evan McPherson

Evan McPherson makes a perfect 55-yard field goal for career-best

If McPherson’s career-best 55-yard field goal were a basketball shot it would have been considered a swish. It gave the Gators a 38-21 lead.

With the Florida Gators holding a 35-21 lead and just over four minutes ticked away since halftime, UF found itself lined up on the left hash mark at the Rebels’ 37-yard line. Without missing a beat, head coach Dan Mullen sent out placekicker Evan McPherson to attempt a 55-yard field goal attempt.

If McPherson’s kick were a basketball shot, it would have been considered a “swish”.

The junior from Fort Payne, Ala., showed nerves of steel as he took the snap and booted the ball straight down the center of the goalposts with some room to spare on the distance. It was his first field goal attempt of the 2020 football season and gave the Gators a 38-21 lead.

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Trio of Gators make The Athletic’s preseason college football All-Who’s Actually Playing Team

The Florida Gators football players were named in The Athletic’s preseason college football All-Who’s Actually Playing Team.

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Three Florida Gators football players were named in The Athletic’s preseason college football All-Who’s Actually Playing Team, published on Tuesday. Junior tight end Kyle Pitts, sophomore defensive back Kaiir Elam and junior placekicker Evan McPherson all made the publication’s second team at their respective positions.

The Athletic’s first team features Clemson’s junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence at the helm, while three SEC players made the cut on both offense and defense, while two of the three special teams slots are occupied by the boys down south. The Alabama Crimson Tide features four players from its hallowed halls, while the Tennessee Volunteers, Kentucky Wildcats, Missouri Tigers and LSU Tigers all have a single representative on the list.

On the second team, the SEC has six players named on offense and five on defense, including Pitts and Elam, respectively, with McPherson the lone representative on special teams. ‘Bama once again led the way with three players listed — two on offense and one on defense — while the Kentucky Wildcats were mentioned twice on offense, the Georgia Bulldogs twice on defense, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs and LSU getting a mention on offense and defense, respectively.

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Gators kicker Evan McPherson named to Lou Groza Award watch list

The Groza Award is given annually to the nation’s top placekicker. Last year, it was given to Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship.

UF kicker Evan McPherson has been named to the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Wednesday.

The Groza Award is given annually to the nation’s top placekicker. Last year, it was given to Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship.

From the watch list, 20 semifinalists will be chosen on Nov. 5. The list will then be further cut to three finalists on Nov. 24 before the winner is announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 10.

McPherson is no newcomer to the watch list; it’s the junior’s third time appearing on it in three seasons. As a true freshman in 2018, he was a semifinalist for the award, hitting 17 of 19 field goals. He repeated that performance as a sophomore, giving him the 10th-best field-goal percentage nationally (as well as the best in the SEC). He was accurate even from range, making 7 of 8 attempts from 40 yards or longer.

His 89.5 percent conversion rate on field goals is currently the best mark in school history and tied for the best career mark by an active FBS kicker with multiple seasons.

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