Keller, Hilts named to award watch lists

A pair of Bobcats were nominated for football award watch lists this week.

Redshirt junior kicker Seth Keller was named to the Lou Groza Place-Kicker Award Watch List. The award is presented to the top kicker in the FBS and is named after Lou “The Toe” Groza, who spent 21 seasons and won four NFL championships with the Cleveland Browns. Keller made 15-18 field goals last season and did not miss on any of his 32 PAT attempts. He’s one of 11 kickers on the watch list who made at least 12 field goals last season. Keller was also named to the 2022 Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team earlier this week. The list will be narrowed down to three finalists before a winner is named on Dec. 5.

Junior tight end Micah Hilts was selected to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, described as “college football’s premier award for community service.” According to a press release, Hilts “has worked with Special Olympics Texas, Buda’s Brightside, San Marcos Public Library, youth football camps around the San Marcos community, and several other organizations in his time away from being a student-athlete. He is also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and won the Texas State chapter’s Student-Athlete of the Year Award in 2021-22.” Hilts has caught 16 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown in 21 games across three years for Texas State, with an injury keeping him sidelined in the 2020 season.

Texas State will begin the 2022 season at Nevada on Sept. 3 at 4:30 p.m. CT.