Michigan's Brendan Gibbons named semifinalist for Lou Groza Award

Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons has been named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, which is presented to the nation's top kicker.

Gibbons, a junior, has made 13 of 15 field goal attempts this season. The 86.7-percent mark ranks 11th in the country. He has made his last 10 kicks, including a clutch 38-yard game-winner against Michigan State and a career-long 52-yarder against Nebraska. Gibbons was pretty much the entire Michigan offense in those two games, making six field goals and accounting for 18 of the 21 points the Wolverines scored.

Gibbons has come a long way since his freshman season, when he made just one of his five kicks. He improved to 13-of-17 last year, and he also converted arguably the biggest kick of his career, a 37-yard game-winner to beat the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Sugar Bowl. Over his three-year career, Gibbons has only missed two extra points.

For the rest of the semifinalists, check out mlive.com.