July 10, 2013
Vanderbilt rising senior placekicker Carey Spear was named as one of 30 players on the Watch List for the 2013 Lou Groza College Place-Kicker Award, presented by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission.
Spear, from Mayfield Village, Ohio, posted Vanderbilt’s best-ever season by a kicker in 2012, connecting on 20-of-24 field goal attempts, which was good for 83.3 percent, a clip that topped all SEC kickers in 2012 with at least 12 attempts. His 20 made field goals set a new single-season team record, and he was perfect inside 44 yards on the season, hitting 15-of-15 field goals. He was also a perfect 27-for-27 on extra points, while handling a majority of the kickoff duties.
Spear kicked a career-long 52-yard field goal in a regular season finale victory at Wake Forest to become the first Commodore to kick a 50-plus yard field goal since Bryant Hahnfeldt in 2006, and then added a 50-yard field goal later in the game to give him the Vanderbilt single-season scoring record for a kicker with 81 points. Spear was twice named as a SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts in 2012.
Spear is only one of two kickers in the SEC to be named to the Groza Watch List, joining Auburn’s Cody Parkey.
Coming off a 9-4 campaign capped with a victory in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Spear and the Commodores will help kick off the college football season on ESPN for the second straight year when they host Ole Miss on Thursday, Aug. 29.
Season tickets remain available, starting at $145 and $160 for Vanderbilt Stadium end zone sections. Tickets can be purchased online or via phone at (615) 322-GOLD (4653). The Vanderbilt Ticket Office also is open during regular hours on weekdays in McGugin Athletics Center, 2601 Jess Neely Drive.
