Our countdown continues with the #3 "Most Intriguing Sports Story of 2011" with one of the  most "automatic" athletes Missouri Western has ever seen.

Greg Zuerlein came to Western as a castaway, a football player without a home.  All he did during his one season in Griffon country was shatter NCAA records.

The senior kicker arrived in St. Joseph after his previous school, Nebraska-Omaha, shockingly disbanded its football program.  The rest is history.

Zuerlein led the nation in field goals per game (2.30) and broke a NCAA and MIAA record with 21 consecutive field goals made. He set an MWSU record, with 23 field goals in a regular season and broke a school record, with a 58-yard field goal against Northwest Missouri State twice.

He was also a perfect 9-9 on field goals of 50 yards or more.  That feat has never been done in NCAA history.  

As of this writing, Zuerlein was named as the MIAA's Special Teams Player of the Year, and earned first team all-american honors, by the AFCA, Daktronics and Little.