Sports
Several Football Watchlists Showcase OU Players
By: Russ Heltman
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Watch list season has arrived in the world of college football and Ohio University’s Louie Zervos, Troy Mangen, and Jake Pruehs were all showcased in the announcements.
Zervos was named to the Lou Groza Award Watch List (awarded to the nations best place kicker) by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission and it’s easy to see why. During his 2016 freshman campaign, the redshirt sophomore set the Mid-American Conference single-season record with 29 made field goals. That number also broke the NCAA record for field goals made by a freshman.
The Florida native’s season-long field goal of 51-yards combined with just six missed kicks all season became a big reason why Ohio made the MAC Championship game despite sub par offensive results in the red zone.
Switching to that side of the ball, Ohio’s senior tight end Troy Mangen was named to the John Mackey Award Watch List (awarded to the nation’s best tight end) by The Friends of John Mackey. The senior started all 14 games of the 2016 season for Ohio and caught 15 passes for 145 yards, good enough to land on the list for the second-straight season. Mangen figures to be a big part of the offense this season as he continues to improve his route running and blocking skills when asked to be the sixth hammer on Ohio’s offensive line.
Mangen wasn’t the only member of that offensive line to be recognized, Ohio’s senior center Jake Pruehs was one of the 81 FBS interior offensive linemen to be named to the Outland Trophy Watch List. The Football Writer’s Association of America secured Pruehs his second watch list nomination of the summer, he was previously named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List.
Pruehs has 25 starts under his belt at Ohio University, including all 14 games the Bobcats played last season. Pruehs led an Ohio offensive line that gave up just 19 sacks and averaged 167.9 yards per game on the ground.
All three of these players will be looking to get back to the MAC Championship for a second straight year and hopefully come out on top this time around. The 2017 Ohio Football season kicks off against Hampton University on September 2nd at Peden Stadium.