If you’d like to make comparisons to other sports, consider David Ruffer the little school that just cut down the nets on its way to the Final Four, only in this case it’s only a final three.
Ruffer, Notre Dame’s senior placekicker, was named one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation’s top college kicker. He’s joined by Danny Hrapmann of Southern Miss and Oklahoma State’s Dan Bailey.
Hrappman has hit 23 of 26 field goals this season as well as converting all 46 of his PATs. He’s made two of three kicks outside of 50 yards, with the lone miss a 59-yarder blocked on Saturday. Bailey has made 22 of 26 field goals and 60 of 61 PATs. Ruffer hasn’t missed a field goal this season, hitting all 15 attempts, but has had two PATs blocked.
I’ve been driving the David Ruffer bandwagon since week one of the season when he made a clutch field goal against Purdue, and just about every media outlet that covers the Irish has talked about his better-than-Rudy storyline. For Ruffer (and the Irish’s sake) let’s hope the Groza nomination gets him a fifth year of eligibility and more importantly, a scholarship next season.