Could USC’s Caden Chittenden Kick His Way Into History?

by Garret Thornburg

A Trojan kicker has never won the Lou Groza award. Could this finally be the year that
changes?

USC kicker Caden Chittenden, a transfer from UNLV, was named to the Lou Groza Award Watch List. The Lou Groza Award is given out annually to the top placekicker in college football. Chittenden finds himself on the list following a 2024 season in which he made 26 field goals, including 25/29 on attempts from less than 50 yards. He finished 1st in the nation amongst kickers in scoring with 133 total points. This effort was good enough to earn him the Mountain West Freshman of the Year Award on top of other Freshman All American accolades from various media networks.

Heading into 2025, Chittenden was also named to the Second Team Walter Camp All-American Team. Coming off a phenomenal freshman season, Chittenden joins a Trojan team that has been looking for a reliable kicker. Last year’s kicker, Michael Lantz, finished the season 14/21 on field goals. This included late game misses in back to back weeks against Penn State and Maryland. Trojan fans are hoping that Chittenden will be the one to right the ship and bring consistency to their kicking game.

Given the high octane approach of Lincoln Riley and his offense, there figures to be no shortage of opportunities to put points on the board. If Chittenden takes advantage of these opportunities, he could find himself amongst the honored 3 this December in West Palm Beach. Only time will tell whether he will be worthy of being honored in the name of “The Toe.”

The Trojans will open the season up on August 30th at the LA Memorial Colliseum agianst Missouri State at 4:30pm.