ESPN’s David Hale recently published his “Position U” rankings in which he surveyed the collegiate football landscape for the best programs for players to flourish. Florida earned a spot at most of the positions including placekicker, where they rank seventh overall when it comes to producing pro-level players who represent the Orange and Blue at the next level.
Most recently, Evan McPherson was selected in the fifth round (149th overall) on the 2021 NFL draft — the highest-picked special teams player that year — by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he has thrived at the professional level.
Prior to that, Caleb Sturgis was taken in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft (166th overall) by the Miami Dolphins. Eddy Piñeiro went undrafted in 2018 but signed on with the then-Oakland Raiders before spending a year with the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and Carolina Panthers each, respectively, from 2019-22.
The Florida State Seminoles are the top-ranked team on the list, while the Gators are bookended by the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 6 and Nebraska Cornhuskers at No. 8.
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