In the 1996 North Carolina State Media Guide, Marc Primanti was quoted as saying, “My job is to make every kick, and I want to do just that.” Primanti did exactly that, making all 20 field goals and 24 extra points that he attempted. This resulted in Primanti being a rather easy choice to receive the Lou Groza Award. Primanti made nine field goals longer than 40 yards, including a 48-yarder against Alabama that was a season-long. He also set an ACC record by making 27 consecutive field goals, stretching back to 1995. After walking onto the Wolfpack team and not playing a down during his first three years in the program, he more than made up for lost time.

The nation’s leading field goal kicker in 2018 was Andre Szmyt. Connecting on 28 of his 32 attempts, the freshman set a new Atlantic Coast Conference single-season record and finished the year with three more makes than any other kicker in the country. But his season was about so much more than just that one number. The 28 field goals included a perfect 3-for-3 mark on kicks from at least 50 yards. Against Pittsburgh, he connected on a season-long 54 yarder to give the Orange the lead late in the fourth quarter. It was his third field goal of the game, part of a stretch of four straight games in which he made three kicks. In fact, he made multiple field goals in each of the first ten games of the season, culminating in a 4-for-4 performance against Louisville. It’s no surprise then that he also scored double-digit points in each of those first ten games, helping him to a season total of 141 that lead the nation not only in kick-scoring but in scoring by any player regardless of position. While his totals grab the headlines – and don’t forget his perfect 57-for-57 extra point attempts – it hasn’t come at the expense of accuracy. His 87.5 field goal percentage was 2nd in the nation by kickers with more than 20 attempts.