Name: Evan McPherson
Number: 19
Position: Kicker
Class: Junior
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 185 pounds
Hometown: Fort Payne, Ala.
High School: Fort Payne
Twitter: @McPherson_Evan
2020 statistics:
| FG% | FG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ | LNG | XPM | XPA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77.3 | 17-22 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 7-7 | 2-4 | 4-7 | 55 | 52 | 52 | 103 |
Overview:
McPherson, the top kicker in the country in the 2018 recruiting class, originally committed to Dan Mullen at Mississippi State in April 2017. When Mullen left Starkville for the Florida job, McPherson’s commitment followed him. He flipped to the Gators on Dec. 10, 2017, and he started right away as the previous kicker Eddy Pineiro had left for the draft.
As a freshman, he went 17 of 19 on field-goal attempts and had a 3-of-4 mark from 40+ yards. He was 17 of 19 again as a sophomore in 2019, this time hitting 7 of 8 from over 40 (including a then career-long 50-yarder). He led the SEC in field goal percentage that season.
His percentage dipped a bit as a junior in 2020, as he hit just 17 of his 22 attempts. He was used more on long attempts, though, and he fared well, hitting 4 of 7 from over 50 yards. He drilled a career-long 55-yard field goal against Ole Miss in the season opener, which is the third-longest kick in school history. He scored 103 points on the year, which led the team.
McPherson made a bit of a surprising move in declaring for the 2021 NFL draft following his junior season. As the all-time leader in career field goal percentage for the SEC, McPherson could be one of the rare specialists selected in the draft.
Video:
Yo, this isn’t natural @McPherson_Evan pic.twitter.com/hRN6Dd6x1M
— Alek (@abennett50_) January 27, 2020
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