Storm Ruiz Makes Final Watch List for Fred Mitchell Award
12/4/2017 5:31:00 PM | Football
Sophomore place-kicker Storm Ruiz one of 13 finalists for the Fred Mitchell Award
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The final watch list for the 2017 Fred Mitchell Award was announced Monday morning and Stephen F. Austin sophomore Storm Ruiz is one of 13 place-kickers in the nation to appear as a finalist. Since 2009, the Fred Mitchell Award has been given annually to the nation's top place-kicker at the FCS, NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA levels for excellence on the football field and in the community. Ruiz was named to the preseason, September and October watch lists for the award as well.
Ruiz, a native of League City, Texas (Clear Springs H.S.), is one of six FCS place-kickers to make the final watch list and joins Kristov Martinez from NCAA Division II Texas A&M-Commerce as the only two from Lone Star State schools. One of three representatives from the Southland Conference, Ruiz is one of just three sophomore finalists as the 13-man list includes four seniors and six juniors. All-Southland First Team selection Gunnar Raborn of McNeese State and All-Southland Second Team performer Lorran Fonseca of Nicholls join Ruiz as finalists for the national award.
Making 14 of his 18 field goal attempts on the season, Ruiz was a perfect 3-for-3 from 40 yards or farther. His 1.27 made field goals per game ranked him 12th nationally, while Ruiz' .778 field goal percentage was fourth-best in the Southland and ranked 20th in the nation. Fourth in the league in makes per game, Ruiz averaged 6.0 points per game to stand among the conference's leaders in scoring. He scored 66 points on the season to lead the Lumberjacks as he went an unblemished 24-for-24 on extra point attempts.
Ruiz drilled a season-long 43-yard field goal against the wind in the SFA's 34-7 win at Lamar on Oct. 28 and went a perfect 3-for-3, including making a 42-yarder, against No. 11 Sam Houston State in the 92nd edition of the Battle of the Piney Woods. Finishing the season 5-for-5 from short range, Ruiz knocked five field goals through the uprights between 30 and 40 yards out. Two of Ruiz' four misses on the season came in challenging situations, one of those taking place on a bad snap and hold in the 27-10 home win over Houston Baptist and the other coming against stiff wind at No. 6 Central Arkansas.
Off the field, Ruiz has lent a hand with two major community service projects. This past April, he assisted with the Big Event, an annual campus-wide service project in which SFA student-athletes and members of the football program aid in cleaning up the local community by completing work at residents' houses for in-need families. Throughout the fall, Ruiz has taken part in the Lumberjacks' Read to Succeed program, an education initiative where members of the SFA football team read to elementary-age children at local schools on Fridays before home games.
A number of previous Fred Mitchell Award winners and top-10 finalists have gone on to kick in the NFL and CFL. Last year's award winner was Matt Davis from Division II UNC Pembroke.
The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be announced next Monday, December 11. Details are provided at www.fredmitchellaward.com and updates may be found via social media on Facebook (@fredmitchellaward), and on Twitter (@kickeruww).
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