Colorado University Athletics
Crosby To Return For Senior Year
January 12, 2006 | Football
BOULDER - University of Colorado placekicker Mason Crosby, a consensus All-American and runner-up for the 2005 Lou Groza Award, spent his time since CU's bowl game thinking about declaring for the National Football League draft, but announced Thursday night he would return to the Buffaloes for his senior year.
The first placekicker in Colorado history to earn first-team All-America honors, he was also the unanimous selection for first-team all-Big 12 honors from both the AP and league coaches, and was the pick for the Big 12 Special Teams Player-of-the-year by the coaches.
He had an amazing list of accomplishments for the season, the crown jewel being a 58-yard field goal at Miami, Fla., the longest ever at sea level (7 feet) without a kicking tee in NCAA Division I-A history. He led the team in scoring with 94 points, converting all 31 PAT kicks and 21-of-28 field goals; he led the nation in the average distance per field goal made with an astounding 41.2 yards.
He has scored 231 career points, tied for second overall on CU's all-time charts as well as tied for the most by a placekicker at Colorado (along with Jeremy Aldrich). He is also second in field goals made (47), second in PAT kicks made (90), second in field goal attempts (60) and first in PAT attempts (98). By returning for his senior year, he has the chance to obliterate most of CU's scoring and placekicking records.
"It's been tough, but I feel good about it now," Crosby said from his home in Georgetown, Texas. "I tried to separate myself and be with my family, remove all the distractions, and look at all the things that are important to me, my family and my teammates.
It just came to me, I was meant to play another year at Colorado and do the college thing for one more year. I made a commitment to play four years in college, and I owed that to myself and to my teammates. I tried to get all the information possible, and in the end, this was the right decision for me.
"My parents didn't want to influence me one way or the other, they just left it up to me and were going to back me in whatever decision I was going to make," he said. "Once I gathered all the information, I did all the deliberating I could, and made the decision and it came down to my heart being in Colorado for one more year."
Crosby received information from the NFL that he could be as high as a third round selection in this April's NFL draft, though that also may have been formulated before the recent rash of juniors have declared their intentions to go professional. He also had several conversations with new CU head coach Dan Hawkins.
"It was good talking to coach Hawkins, and I'm looking forward to playing under him," Crosby said. "I want to help lead this team in the right direction, and want to take more of a leadership role this year, take advantage of being a senior and share my experiences with the younger guys. My class has been through a lot, and we need to be there to help with the transition to the new coaching staff.
"So I just want to make sure everyone realizes that we're a team, and do my part in helping the younger guys get through the coaching change."
"To have a player of his caliber stay is important to our football team," Hawkins said. "His affection for the University of Colorado and Buffalo football is awesome."
"We were all playing devil's advocate for each other, and In the end, it was a win-win situation, there was no down side it," said Mason's mother, Karen.
Crosby strung together a school record 10 straight field goals made between the end of his sophomore year and his junior season, in both of which he led the NCAA in field goals made from 50 yards or longer (six in 2004, five in 2005). This past season, he had the first two game-winning kicks of his career: in a 31-28 win over Colorado State, he had a 48-yard field goal to tie the score at 21-21 with 2:32 left, and a game-winning 47-yard boot with 0:04 on the clock; and later in the year at Kansas State, and after already making a 52-yard kick in the second quarter, he drilled a 50-yarder with six seconds left in swirling winds to beat the Wildcats, 23-20. For his career, he is 23-of-25 from 40 yards and in, as well as a most impressive 24-of-35 from 41 yards or longer.
He has also excelled in late game heroics, making a name for himself in the clutch: he is 12-of-13 in the fourth quarter, including 10-of-10 in the final 8 minutes with eight kicks of 41 yards or longer and seven of them with the score of the game within six points. In addition, he has kicked off 157 times, with 110 going for touchbacks, with the average starting yardline of the opponent its 22 after his kicks.
