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Penn football beats Brown at Franklin Field during Homecoming to claim the top position in the Ivy League. Penn 96 Andrew Samson Penn 3 Ryan Calvert Credit: Katie Rubin

In Penn football’s nationally televised game against rival Princeton last month, Andrew Samson’s family watched him make history from all over the country.

The senior placekicker broke the program’s scoring record (238) with a routine extra point in the third quarter of Penn’s 52-10 victory.

“I was hoping that it would happen at a home game so my parents could be here to see it, but luckily it happened when we were playing Princeton,” Samson said.

His accolades, however, do not end there — Samson broke six other school records this season and ended his career as the Ivy League’s second-leading scorer among kickers.

Now, Samson is a candidate for the Fred Mitchell Award, which honors the nation’s most outstanding placekicker for accomplishments both on and off the field. The selection committee includes Hall of Famers Lou Holtz and Gale Sayers and will announce its decision Wednesday.

A West Bloomfield, Mich., native, Samson holds Penn records in field goals made, extra points made, extra point percentage and kicking points. He ends his career ranked third on the Ivy League’s list of career field goals made.

“He’s had a tremendous career,” coach Al Bagnoli said after the Quakers clinched a share of the Ivy title against Harvard. “He’s been very consistent and has come up big in critical situations.”

While Samson never thought he would find as much success as he has, he said he hoped — even as a freshman — that he would stay healthy and consistent enough to play 40 games.

“At the time, I had no idea what any records were, and if I did, they seemed so distant, so far away that it would never be possible for me to reach any of them,” Samson said.

Going into his senior season, Samson knew he was poised to make the record books. While he focused on team wins, he also began to anticipate breaking the program scoring record.

“As it got closer, I started not really projecting, but thinking about, ‘Oh, it might happen this week, it might happen the next week,’” Samson said.

Off the field, Samson has volunteered at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and participated in Penn football’s bone marrow program.

He has also served as a Wharton School Peer Mentor.

“I’m an outlet for them if they have questions about Philadelphia, about Penn, about Wharton, about social life.” Samson said. “That’s been rewarding.”

Samson’s nomination is all the more impressive as the award recognizes placekickers from the Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

“Looking at how many kickers there are across the division … it’s probably one of the highlights of my overall career so far,” Samson said.

“So far,” meaning his career may not have ended on Franklin Field— NFL agents have already begun to talk to him.

“It’s definitely a possibility,” he said. “I’m trying to be as resourceful as possible and talk to as many people as I can before diving into the whole thing.”

And having the endorsment of eight Pro and/or College Hall of Fame members and other former players on the Fred Mitchell Award selection committee certainly doesn’t hurt Samson’s chances for future play.

UPDATE: The award, announced Wednesday, was given to Saint Xavier's Tom Lynch. Lynch scored a total of 121 points and was 13-for-15 in field goals in 2010.

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