Dec. 4, 2012
Fred Mitchell Award Finalists Release | 2012 AFCA NCAA FCS All-American Team
Bronx, N.Y. -
Fordham University senior kicker Patrick Murray (Mahwah, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) has been named an American Football Coaches Association (AFC) All-American and one of ten finalists for the prestigious Fred Mitchell Awardit was announced today. The Mitchell Award winner will be announced on December 11 and will be honored on February 18, 2013 at the National Football Foundation Chicago Chapter Awards Ceremony.
The AFCA All-American team is the first major All-America team announced for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Murray is just one of two standout Patriot League seniors making the list, joined by Georgetown linebacker Robert McCabe. The team consists of just one team of 25 players.
The Fred Mitchell Award is presented to the Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, NAIA or NJCAA place-kicker that excels on the football field and in the community. The Award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community.
Murray, who was named First Team All-Patriot League as both a placekicker and punter in 2012, just completed the most successful season for a Fordham kicker in school history. leading all of the NCAA in field goals with 25 and leading the Patriot League and ranking second in the NCAA in punting average (46.0). He set a new Fordham and Patriot League record with 25 field goals, shattering the former mark of 18 set by Fordham's Matt Fordyce in 2002. The 25 three-pointers was just one shy of the NCAA FCS record of 26 set by set by Tony Zendejas from Nevada in 1982 and matched by Northern Iowa's Brian Mitchell in 1990.
Murray connected on four field goals of over 50 yards this fall, the most 50-yarders of any NCAA Division I kicker. He booted a school-record 55-yarder at Cincinnati as well as connecting on a 52-yard field goal versus Lock Haven.
On the year, Murray converted 25 of his 30 field goal attempts and 30 of 31 PATs to amass 105 points, ranking third on the school's single season list and becoming the first Fordham kicker to score more than 100 points in a season. He also broke the Patriot League mark of 97 kick scoring points in a season set by Fordyce in 2002.
Over his career, Murray booted 38 field goals, sixth best all-time at Fordham.
As a punter, Murray averaged a school-record 46.0 yards/kick, with 18 of his 52 kicks traveling over 50 yards, including a season-best 65-yarder, while 14 of his punts were downed inside the opponent's 20. He closes out his career with 186 punts for 7,985 yards, an average of 42.9 yards/punt, the second best career punting average in Fordham history.
There were 38 place-kickers nominated for this Award. The breakdown of the 10 finalists is as follows: Collegiate Division - 2 FCS, 5 Division II, 3 Division III, 0 NAIA, 0 NJCAA; State - the place-kickers play at schools located in 9 different states; Year - 6 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 0 Sophomore, 0 Freshmen.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best -- the coaches themselves.
The AFCA team is one of four in the FCS used to determine consensus All-America status. The others, which will be out in the coming weeks, are The Sports Network, Walter Camp and the Associated Press.
