Mocs' kicker Henrique Ribeiro has earned a spot on the 2015 Fred Mitchell Award Watch List. The award recognizes the top kicker in divisions below the FBS. Last season Ribeiro, now a junior, led UTC with 108 points and was named First Team All SoCon.
photo by File/Dennis Norwood (Chattanoogan.com)
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior kicker Henrique Ribeiro was named to the 2015 Fred Mitchell Award Watch List today. He is one of 41 candidates for the top kicker in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
The Award’s Selection Committee Chairman Chris Kearney said, “These place-kickers are impressive on the football field and off the field representing their schools, their football teams, their conferences, their communities, their families and themselves.
We look forward to following their accomplishments during the next few months.”
A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who prepped at Chattanooga’s Baylor School, Ribeiro is one of 12 FCS kickers on the list. He is also a first team preseason All-Southern Conference selection after an outstanding sophomore campaign.
Ribeiro led the team in scoring with 108 points in 2014. He was 16-22 (72.3%) on FGs and 60-62 on PATs last season, earning first team All-SoCon honors. He led the SoCon in FG% and FGs made, while his 60 PATs were a school record.
He has a current streak of 43 consecutive PATs made, which is six shy of the school record. He is also fourth all-time at UTC with a career 70.4 FG% (19/27).
Click here for a complete list of the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List.
Fred Mitchell said, “It is a pleasure to include these fine young men on the Watch List for this Award, which is celebrating its seventh year in 2015. We are delighted to recognize them based on outstanding performance in the community and expectations going into the 2015 college football season. It is also a thrill to see so many familiar names on the Watch List, including a record-high 22 nominees and six place-kickers that were among the top ten last season.”
Ribeiro and the Mocs open training camp on Monday, Aug. 3 at Scrappy Moore Field. UTC is the preseason pick to win its third straight Southern Conference title in 2015.
Chattanooga opens with a huge top-10 matchup against Jacksonville State on Sept. 5. Kickoff is 6:00 p.m. at Finley Stadium. Tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627).