Inside The Huskies

From Gross to Groza, Husky Kicker Makes Award Watch List

The UW player is one of 30 singled out for accolade named for Ohio State and NFL booter.

Dan Raley

Grady Gross chats up a Husky coach during spring ball.
Grady Gross chats up a Husky coach during spring ball. / Skylar Lin Visuals

As Grady Gross made his way down the overcrowded sideline at Friday's University of Washington football practice on the East field, a youth football coach impulsively grabbed him by the arm and asked Gross who he was and where he was from?

A little startled by this, after all Gross was in the middle of a live practice, he politely responded to the emboldened inquisitor and kept moving.

Had there been more time, the junior from Scottsdale, Arizona, could have fully identified himself -- as one of the top place-kickers in all of college football.

On Saturday, the UW revealed the 5-foot-11, 218-pound Gross has been named as one of 30 kickers selected to the Lou Groza Award watch list and rightly so. He comes off a 2023 season in which he converted 18 of 22 field goals, including a 42-yarder to beat Washington State with no time left, and all 63 of his extra-point attempts.

"Just don't think too much," Gross said of his secret to kicking success. "You've got to trust your training. Your body knows it better than your mind."

While the Huskies previously have been blessed with some of the nation's foremost place-kickers -- they relied on consensus All-Americans Chuck Nelson in 1982 and Jeff Jaeger in 1986 -- those sure-footed players came before the Groza Award was created in 1992. The UW hasn't had anyone claim this bauble just yet.

Gross is in his third year in the UW program. As a freshman, he handled kickoffs only as record-setting Peyton Henry finished up a distinguished Husky career. Gross took over all kicking duties last season as the Huskies went 14-1 and advanced to the CFP national championship game.

With the Huskies returning only two starters on offense and defense, Gross has been a bonus player inherited by new coach Jedd Fisch for his steady kicking ability under all circumstances. His longest field goal is a 47-yarder that helped the UW avoid an upset and secured a 15-7 victory over Arizona State.

Lou Groza, nicknamed "The Toe," was a former Ohio State and Cleveland Browns kicker who played 21 seasons in the NFL and retired as the league's top kicking and points leader. He died in 2000 at age 76.

Gross and Groza kind of sound like they go together.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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