KU kickers honored for play vs. Louisiana Tech

By Matt Tait     Sep 23, 2013

Nick Krug
Kansas kicker Matthew Wyman watches his 52-yard field goal sail toward the uprights for a 13-10 win over Louisiana Tech during the on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013 at Memorial Stadium.

KU punter Trevor Pardula and place kicker Matthew Wyman were honored on Monday for their roles in KU’s 13-10 victory against Louisiana Tech last Saturday.

Wyman, a walk-on who hit a 52-yard field goal as time expired to give Kansas the victory, was named one of three Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award “Stars of the Week” on Monday.

KU coach Charlie Weis said Monday morning on the Big 12 coaches conference call that he gave some thought to turning to Pardula’s big leg to try the game-winner, but went with Wyman because of his performance in practice.

“In that range in practice, Matt’s been very consistent from about that range,” Weis said. “He’s made 80 percent of his kicks from that range. Pardula can kick one from 60 yards if he really had to, it’s just that his accuracy vs. Matt’s accuracy is not close.”

While Wyman won the game with his clutch kick, Pardula, a transfer from St. Anza College in California, was named the Big 12 special teams player of the week for his efforts during last Saturday’s 13-10 victory against Louisiana Tech.

Pardula set a school record with a 57.6-yard average on five punts and pinned three inside the 20, with two landing inside the 10.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.