Fred Mitchell Award Web Site
CLICK HERE for a Story on Alcobendas by David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune
A national player of the year award was probably the furthest thing on the mind of
Roldan Alcobendas when he was laying on a high school soccer field in the spring of 2013 and on the turf at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Mont., a year-and-a-half later.
But after two knee surgeries and more rehabilitation work than most people can endure, the sixth-year senior has been recognized for his perseverance and accuracy as the 2018 recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award. The announcement was made on Monday (Dec. 10), just a few days after Mitchell notified him he had won the award, presented for excellence on the football field and in the community.
"I'm a loss of words and was honestly speechless when Mr. Mitchell let me know," said Alcobendas, a 2013 graduate of Camas (Wash.) High School. "I'm very honored to be recognized with this award."
Alcobendas will receive the award in February at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall. The honor has been awarded since 2009, and is presented to the nation's top place-kicker in FCS, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and NJCAA for excellence on the football field and in the community. Over 750 place-kickers are eligible.
"It's incredible, absolutely incredible," said Eastern head coach
Aaron Best. "He came in wounded and worked his way back on the football field. He hurt his knee again in 2014 in Bozeman and came back again from that. The evaluative measure for a kicker is putting it between the pipes – it doesn't matter how long or how pretty, it matters if it gets done. Roldan got it done."
The Award is named for Fred Mitchell, an All-America place-kicker from Wittenberg University and 41-year sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Said Mitchell: "
Roldan Alcobendas checks all the boxes when it comes to fulfilling the criteria for being the 2018 Fred Mitchell Award winner. His perseverance following a pair of devastating knee injuries has been remarkable. And his commitment to community service is what we are all about. We are proud to add him to our family of distinguished winners."
Alcobendas earned first team All-Big Sky Conference honors as both a kicker and punter for EWU in 2018, and has broken the single season school record for kick-scoring points with 107 and shattered the career mark with a current total of 308. His season total is eighth and his career mark is seventh in the 55-year history of the Big Sky Conference.
"I give all the credit to all 11 guys," he said. "Coach Best always says what matters is for everybody to do their job to make this operation work. I honestly wouldn't have been able to do this without them, including
Curtis Billen who has been our snapper for the last four years. And I've had a few holders, but I have full trust that they are going to execute their job just like they think I'm going to execute mine."
As a bonus for his past suffering
, Alcobendas received a sixth year to complete four years of eligibility because of injuries that cost him a pair of seasons. Alcobendas had to sit out both the 2013 and 2015 seasons because of knee injuries – one suffered while playing in his senior year of soccer.
"It was a very humbling experience," he said of the rehabilitation after the surgeries. "I took this year to really work on my craft. I'm very blessed to be in this situation."
Alcobendas is the only player in FCS (minimum of one attempt per game) to be perfect kicking field goals (15-of-15). Alcobendas is ninth in FCS in scoring overall and third in kick scoring (8.9 per game), and is 21st with an average of 1.25 field goals per game. His 45.3 punting average is second nationally, ranking only behind a punter who plays for a school in Florida (Chris Faddoul, Florida A&M, 46.8). The season (45.3) and career averages (45.3) for Alcobendas are both on pace to break school records of 44.9 and 43.8, respectively. His second extra point of the season was blocked, but he's made all 61 since then for a season total of 62-of-63.
"It's a testament of how much hard work and effort I've put in to this point," he said of his accuracy. "Those previous years weren't up to my standards, so I truly took the time to improve."
The Eastern football program participate in numerous community service projects during the year, and Alcobendas participated in youth clinics, Cheney "Clean-Sweep" campus pick-up days, Special Olympics and the "Light the Way Dinner Auction" to help raise funds for the American Childhood Cancer Organization of the Inland Northwest.
Alcobendas earned Big Sky All-Academic honors in 2016 and 2017, and has a 3.23 GPA as a business administration marketing major with a minor in communications. He recently concluded coursework for his degree.
"He's a better person than he is a player," added Best. "He's persevered and come back, and had to have thoughts of whether this was really for him. He got his sixth year, and to he not only kicked and punted for us, but he was the best in the league in both. Now he is being recognized as best in the nation for what he does, both on and off the field. He has great parents and great structure, and I'm just proud and privileged to have been a part of his journey. I couldn't see a more deserving individual earning this award."
More on Alcobendas . . .
Earlier this season, Alcobendas moved past Troy Griggs (231 from 1998-01) and Mike Jarrett (236 from 2008-11) for the all-time EWU lead for kick scoring, and now ranks seventh in Big Sky history. His 107 points in 2018 is also a school record for kick scoring, and ranks eighth all-time in the league.
Alcobendas has also established EWU career records for extra points made (203) and attempted (209), breaking the previous records held by Jarrett (2009-11) with 143 makes and 150 attempts. Alcobendas has made 35-of-46 field goals in his career to rank third in school history for field goals made and fifth in attempts. In his career, he has 107 kickoffs for a 57.4 average (6,143 total yards) with 17 touchbacks.
Alcobendas has been rewarded three times this season (four in his career) with ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors. His most recent honor came when he scored 11 points for the Eagles – just two from his career high – in EWU's 59-20 win over UC Davis on Nov. 10. He kicked a 24-yard field goal to remain perfect on the season at 13-for-13. He also converted all eight of his extra points and punted five times for a 39.8 average with four of his punts downed inside the UCD 20-yard line – three inside the 10. The average field position for UC Davis after his punts was their own 15-yard line, including the 5, 7, 9 and 19. Aside from two long touchdown runs of 46 and 69 yards, UCD got to EWU's red zone just once all day, and the Aggies had to settle for a field goal.
He also earned the honor after he kicked a pair of field goals in EWU's 14-6 loss at 13th-ranked Weber State on Oct. 13, and also added a punting record to his resume. He averaged 60.3 yards on seven punts in Eastern's defensive battle, including a school-record 78 yarder with the wind in the second quarter and another of 72 yards with the wind in the third. He also had a wind-aided punt of 63 yards, and a punt into the wind of 60. Two of his punts were downed inside the 10-yard line of Weber State. He now owns two of the top three punts in school history, with the previous record set by Jake Miller against Washington State on Sept. 8, 2012, with a punt of 74 yards. The 60.3 average for Alcobendas versus the Wildcats nearly broke the Big Sky record of 61.5 set by Eddie Johnson of Idaho State in 2002 versus Cal Poly. He kicked a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter and a 27-yarder in the third quarter to remain perfect on the season.
He originally broke the school record for career kick scoring against Montana State on Sept. 29 and received his second career ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player award on Oct. 1 as a result. He suffered a knee injury in 2014 at Bobcat Stadium, then returned two years later and won his first Big Sky POW honor in 2016 after a performance in Bozeman. He scored 11 points in 2016 and had 10 more in this year's 34-17 victory. In 2018, he converted field goals of 24 and 25 yards versus the Bobcats, converted four extra points and punted four times for a 46.8 average with a long of 60. Three of his punts were downed inside the MSU 20-yard line, including a key 59-yarder in the fourth quarter. In all, the average field position for MSU after his punts was the 14-yard line.
"It was a proud, proud moment to watch him put the ball through the pipes and get the record," Best said of his 24-yarder that gave EWU a 17-10 second-quarter lead versus the Bobcats. "We didn't mention it before or during the game, but after the game we talked about that. What an accomplishment for him after everything he's overcome in six years here, but it feels like about 10 years."
He finished the 2016 season 9-of-15 kicking field goals and made 73-of-74 extra points. He made his last 63 extra points in a row in 2016 to shatter the previous season record of 47. His 73 total extra points made in 2016 were one behind the Big Sky Conference record of 74 set by former Eagle Kevin Miller in 2013. He also averaged 54.6 yards on 44 kickoffs with seven touchbacks.
He missed his first extra point attempt of the game against UC Davis on Oct. 7, 2017, ending his school-record string of consecutive career extra points made at 85. In the 2017 season, he made 46-of-47 extra point attempts and 10-of-14 field goals. He also handled kickoff duties much of the season, and averaged 59.8 yards on 39 kicks in 2017 with seven touchbacks.
Returning to the venue he suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2014, Alcobendas made field goals of 48 and 31 yards and had a career-high 11 total points in EWU's 41-17 victory over Montana State in 2016 to earn Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors. His 48-yarder was the best of his career, and equals the 23rd-longest in school history. He also had a 31-yarder blocked and made all five of his extra point attempts to account for 11 of EWU's points. In addition, he averaged 64.0 yards in three kickoffs, including one touchback.
