Former Durango High School placekicker Avery Llewellyn is turning enough heads at the next level to earn award consideration.
Llewellyn, a redshirt sophomore on the Colorado School of Mines football team, was one of 12 Division II kickers named to the preseason Fred Mitchell Award watch list recently.
The Fred Mitchell Award is presented annually to the top placekicker of the more than 750 such players at the Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA levels. The award is named for Mitchell, himself a record-setting placekicker, Wittenburg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author and Chicago Tribune sports columnist.
Llewellyn was 10-for-12 on field goals last season for the Orediggers, who went 6-5 last season with a 4-5 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. His season-long was 50 yards, and he was a perfect 2-for-2 from 40 to 49 yards last season.
On kickoffs, Llewellyn averaged 62.4 yards on 78 kickoffs, including 30 touchbacks.
Community service also factors into the process. Llewellyn has stayed active in that regard through work with Project Merry Christmas, which distributes gifts, food and clothing to La Plata County residents, and he’s done work with Durango Downtown Cleanup.
As a member of the Demons, Llewellyn was an all-state selection as a senior. In that season, he had 33 touchbacks on 42 kickoffs and tallied a total of 45 points as the Demons’ placekicker.
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