FLORENCE – In a season with few bright spots, the University of North Alabama got a bit of good news this month.
Kicker Ian Vachon was named to the Fred Mitchell Award Midseason Watch List, recognizing placekickers across six levels of college football.
The Fred Mitchell Award recognizes placekickers for their excellence on the field and in the community. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be announced in December. Vachon is one of 19 kickers on the midseason watch list.
“Since arriving in the summer, Ian has been an absolute joy to coach and is a weapon for our offense,” said UNA head coach Brent Dearmon. “He is a tireless worker and also a great teammate.”
Vachon, a redshirt junior, is having a breakout season for the Lions after transferring from Auburn this offseason.
Over eight games, he is 7-of-10 on field goal attempts, including a 55-yarder against Northeastern State on Sept. 13. That field goal broke an 11-year old record set by Taylor Pontius in 2014. It is also the sixth-longest field goal by an FCS kicker this season.
In the community, Vachon’s involvement has spanned UNA’s move-in day, the Kilby Elementary car drop-off line and pep rally, and a Police vs. Fire flag football game.
Fred Mitchell, the award’s namesake, was a longtime (1974-2015) award-winning sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune and the author of 12 sports books. Mitchell set the NCAA record for career kick-scoring at Wittenberg University in 1968 among “College Division” schools that are now classified as FCS, Division II, and Division III.
The Lions have four games remaining this season, starting this Saturday at Utah Tech. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT in St. George, Utah.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our email newsletter to have all our smart stories delivered to your inbox.
