Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko will have a new kicker making his way to College Station (TX) in 2024, as former Georgia placekicker Jared Zirkel will officially transfer to Texas A&M with one year of eligibility remaining, bringing a big leg and championship experience.
Current Aggies’ junior kicker Randy Bond, who struggled numerous times during the 2023 season, will have new competition this offseason, though Zirkel’s strength remains as a kickoff specialist.
In four seasons with the Bulldogs, Zirkel only attempted one field goal but earned the full-time kickoff specialist job during the 2023 season, recording 103 kickoffs for 6,534, 67 touchbacks, and only three kicks out of bounds, and finishing in the top 3 of kickoff specialists nationwide.
A native of Kerrville, Texas, and Tivy High School, yes, the home of Texas A&M Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel, Zirkel played behind future NFL kickers such as Jake Camarda and Rodrigo Blankenship, so dealing with adversity is nothing new as he enters his final collegiate chapter with the Maroon & White.
Feels like home #gigem pic.twitter.com/lXl6QA38aT
— Jared Zirkel (@JaredZirkel) December 31, 2023
Speaking with Kicking World owner Brent Grablachoff, who has worked with Zirkel since high school, Elko and his staff, including new Special Teams coordinator Patrick Dougherty, are in good hands going forward.
“Out of high school, Jared had, without a doubt, the biggest kicking leg in the country. At our private lessons in Austin, he hit a 70-yard field goal off the crossbar and could easily kick 60+ yard field goals swinging lightly.
His kickoffs are even more impressive. At UGA, he routinely smashed the ball out of the back of the end zone and would routinely crank out 4.3+ second hang time kickoffs and occasionally even reach 4.5 seconds, which less than a couple dozen kickers in the world can do. Jared has an elite leg and will be a weapon for the Aggies.”
While Randy Bond will likely remain the Aggies’ starting placekicker, Jared Zirkel is simply a plug-and-play option for kickoffs. his presence should drastically improve A&M’s porous special teams unit in the process. Zirkel received offers from Oklahoma, Indiana, North Texas, Texas State, UIW and several PWO offers before committing to Texas A&M.
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