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SALT LAKE CITY (press release) - Utah All-American Louie Sakoda, who Monday was named one of three finalists for both the Lou Groza (place-kicking) and Ray Guy (punting) awards, has been named a first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. The team is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Sakoda, a business marketing major who carries a 3.73 cumulative GPA, is a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete (which came with an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship), as well as a three-time Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athlete and a three-time Dean's List honoree. He is a national finalist for the Draddy Trophy, Lowe's Senior Class Award and the Wuerffel Trophy.
Sakoda ranks among the national leaders in field goal percentage (21-of-23, 91.3%) and punting average (41.7). He leads the nation in kick-scoring points with 115 and is second in points scored from all positions. Sakoda's 21 field goals is tied for second in the nation and he is 17-of-17 in field goals from 47 yards and in.
As a punter, he is a four-year starter and a 2007 first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association and CBSSports.com. Sakoda has had 42-percent of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line (21-of-50), including 12 inside the 15-yard line and five inside the 5-yard line. He has won five Mountain West Conference Player of the Week awards this season and a record 12 in his career.
Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
(Courtesy the University of Utah)
