Tag: Evan McPherson

Report: Florida K Evan McPherson has been in contact with the Vikings

Florida kicker Evan McPherson has reportedly been in contact with the Minnesota Vikings. Could McPherson be the solution to the Vikings’ kicking problem?

The Vikings released K Dan Bailey this offseason. Minnesota still has K Greg Joseph on its roster, but the team could also look elsewhere for a solution to its kicking problems.

Florida K Evan McPherson could be an alternative. In his collegiate career, he went 51-for-60 on field goal attempts and 149-for-150 on extra points.

According to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo, the Vikings have been in contact with McPherson. To be fair, the Gators kicker has been in contact with plenty of teams: The Browns, Patriots, Seahawks, Dolphins, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Bills, Bengals, Packers, Colts, Broncos, Cowboys, Cardinals and the 49ers, per Melo.

Minnesota has not had the best of luck with drafting kickers in the past and that may be what it takes to have McPherson be the team’s kicker in 2021. Then again, the Vikings haven’t had much luck with kickers in general, so maybe it’s worth a shot.

Florida loses yet another talented player to NFL draft

The latest Gator to announce their professional intentions is placekicker Evan McPherson on Tuesday via his personal Instagram account.

The news keeps getting worse for Florida Gators fans hoping to see some familiar faces on the football team next season, as another premiere player has declared himself for the 2021 National Football League amateur draft.

The latest former Gator to announce their professional intentions is placekicker Evan McPherson, who made the announcement Tuesday on his personal Instagram account. Here is what he had to say.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank God for giving me every opportunity I’ve had in life. Thank you to my entire family and to all who have sacrificed so much to help me get to where I am today. Our faith has kept us strong and together on this journey.

Thank you Coach Mullen for believing in me from the beginning and giving me the chance to play for Florida & becoming a Gator for life. Thanks Coach Knox & Coach Graham for helping me become the best player I could be for UF. To the rest of the coaching, training & support staff, thank you all for helping me along the way. You’ve all been pillars in my growth on and off the field.

The memories I have from playing in The Swamp I will forever cherish. I have played with the best teammates in the world. I’m proud to call each and everyone (sic) of them my brothers.

My family and I have put much time, thought and prayer into this decision over the past few weeks. It has been a lifelong dram of mine to play football at the highest level in the NFL.

I have decided to forgo my senior season and enter the NFL draft.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJrMYO-gCOW

McPherson made 17 of 22 field goal attempts in 2020 with the longest strike coming from 55 yards away while making all 52 of his extra-point attempts. He was perfect kicking from under 39 yards away but went 2 of 4 from 40-49 yards and 4 of 7 from beyond the 50-yard line.

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Every Gators fan knows who the SEC Offensive Player of the Week was

SEC Week 7 players of the week are out and Florida’s quarterback Kyle Trask and placekicker Evan McPherson both earned honors after the win.

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The Florida Gators football team got more good news on Monday when the Southeastern Conference announced its players of the week for the league’s Week 7 of action. Among those named to the prestigious list were quarterback Kyle Trask and placekicker Evan McPherson, both of whom put together a clinic on superlative play Saturday.

Starting with the Gators’ gunslinger, Trask was easily the difference-maker against the Georgia Bulldogs, putting up a 34-for-43 passing performance that translated into 474 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. The redshirt senior found 10 different targets for his throws, utilizing his backfield and tight ends effectively as second options for his receivers.

Despite Georgia’s reputation on defense — with the caveat that the cohort was decimated by injuries — the ‘Dawgs just could not contain Trask on Saturday. Not that they should feel badly about that part, as nobody has contained him so far this season.

Here is SECSports.com‘s breakdown of his performance and accolades.

  • Trask was 30-of-43 for 474 yards passing and four touchdown passes as he led Florida to a 44-28 victory over No. 5 Georgia in Jacksonville on Saturday.
  • Set career highs in passing attempts (43), completions (30) and passing yards (474).
  • Entering this game, Georgia ranked No. 1 in the SEC in total defense, scoring defense and passing efficiency defense.
  • UGA also ranked No. 3 in the SEC in passing defense.
  • Finished with 474 passing yards, the second-highest total in school history and just eight yards shy of Tim Tebow’s single-game school record of 482 set in the 2010 Sugar Bowl.
  • Trask set a single-game school record for passing yards against Georgia by the end of the third quarter, which he finished with 412 passing yards. He is the first player in SEC history with 4 pass TD in 5 straight games.

NEXT: Placekicker Evan McPherson

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Gators release list of inactive players for Missouri game

Due to an outbreak of COVID-19 on the Florida Gators football team, fifteen players are listed inactive as the game sets to begin.

The Florida Gators will be missing 15 players tonight when they face the Missouri Tigers at home in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium after an increased number of COVID-19 positive tests were announced this week, yet the team still managed to field enough scholarship players to meet the Southeastern Conference’s minimum of 53.

Below is a list of the players sitting out as of game time.

3 Marco Wilson
6 Shawn Davis
12 CJ McWilliams
13 Donovan Stiner
14 Quincy Lenton
19 Evan McPherson
21 Ethan Pouncey
24 Avery Helm
25 Chester Kimbrough
32 Mordecai McDaniel
34 Lacedrick Brunson
47 Austin Perry
66 Jaelin Humphries
75 TJ Moore
77 Ethan White

The biggest names of note are defensive backs Marco Wilson, Shawn Davis and Donovan Stiner, as well as star kicker Evan McPherson. The Gators will play shorthanded against a well-balanced Missouri offense but a less-than-stellar defense, which should make for an interesting matchup.

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Two Florida Gators make ESPN’s ‘midseason’ awards watch lists

Florida has two players on ESPN’s awards watch list entering the midpoint-ish of the season with their tight end and kicker mentioned.

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) and the individual proceeding approaches conferences have taken have thrown a wrinkle in the annual midseason award watch lists.

Despite these differences, ESPN’s Bill Connelly used the information we do have, while considering the student-athletes yet to take the field, to hand out his “midseason” awards on October 19.

Two Florida Gators juniors received a nod from Connelly and the team earned some recognition, as well.

Beginning with the team, he named Florida’s offense as one of the five best in America, along with the Alabama Crimson Tide, BYU Cougars, Memphis Tigers and Virginia Tech Hokies.

Having scored at least 38 points in all three of their games, the Gators are averaging 464 yards per game, the 18th-best total in the country.

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The young man at the controls of this potent attack, redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Trask, has tossed 14 touchdown passes and just one interception in three games, putting him on pace to surpass Danny Wuerffel’s single-season school record of 39, set in his Heisman Trophy-winning 1996 campaign.

This pace will be difficult to maintain, but if Trask is able to do so, it would be even more impressive considering Florida will play only 10 regular-season games in 2020, instead of their usual 12.

On the receiving end of half of Trask’s touchdowns has been tight end Kyle Pitts, who was identified by Connelly as the frontrunner for the John Mackey Award.

Presented annually since 2000 to college football’s most outstanding tight end, Memphis redshirt senior Sean Dykes occupied second-place on Connelly’s rankings, while the Ole Miss Rebels’ Kenny Yeboah, another redshirt senior, slotted in third.

Penn State Nittany Lions junior Pat Freiermuth, who will begin his season on Saturday in Bloomington against the Indiana Hoosiers, was labeled a “late-arriving threat” in the rankings.

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Pitts, a likely first-round selection in the 2021 National Football League Draft, has caught 17 passes for 274 yards thus far in 2020, placing him on track to establish career-highs in both categories. His seven touchdown receptions are already a career-best.

The other Florida student-athlete to receive this honor from Connelly was kicker Evan McPherson, who was second on his Lou Groza Award rankings.

Handed out each year since 1992 to the best placekicker in the sport, the ESPN Staff Writer labeled Miami Hurricanes redshirt senior Jose Borregales as the favorite to be the recipient and placed BYU redshirt sophomore Jake Oldroyd third on his list.

A three-year starter, McPherson is five-for-five on his field goal attempts in 2020, including a 55-yarder in the season-opening victory over Ole Miss, which is tied for the third-longest in school history.

The Gators, who lost, 41-38, in their last action against the Texas A&M Aggies on October 10, will have had three full weeks off by the time they next suit up on October 31, Halloween, against the Missouri Tigers in Gainesville.

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Evan McPherson makes a perfect 55-yard field goal for career-best

If McPherson’s career-best 55-yard field goal were a basketball shot it would have been considered a swish. It gave the Gators a 38-21 lead.

With the Florida Gators holding a 35-21 lead and just over four minutes ticked away since halftime, UF found itself lined up on the left hash mark at the Rebels’ 37-yard line. Without missing a beat, head coach Dan Mullen sent out placekicker Evan McPherson to attempt a 55-yard field goal attempt.

If McPherson’s kick were a basketball shot, it would have been considered a “swish”.

The junior from Fort Payne, Ala., showed nerves of steel as he took the snap and booted the ball straight down the center of the goalposts with some room to spare on the distance. It was his first field goal attempt of the 2020 football season and gave the Gators a 38-21 lead.

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Trio of Gators make The Athletic’s preseason college football All-Who’s Actually Playing Team

The Florida Gators football players were named in The Athletic’s preseason college football All-Who’s Actually Playing Team.

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Three Florida Gators football players were named in The Athletic’s preseason college football All-Who’s Actually Playing Team, published on Tuesday. Junior tight end Kyle Pitts, sophomore defensive back Kaiir Elam and junior placekicker Evan McPherson all made the publication’s second team at their respective positions.

The Athletic’s first team features Clemson’s junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence at the helm, while three SEC players made the cut on both offense and defense, while two of the three special teams slots are occupied by the boys down south. The Alabama Crimson Tide features four players from its hallowed halls, while the Tennessee Volunteers, Kentucky Wildcats, Missouri Tigers and LSU Tigers all have a single representative on the list.

On the second team, the SEC has six players named on offense and five on defense, including Pitts and Elam, respectively, with McPherson the lone representative on special teams. ‘Bama once again led the way with three players listed — two on offense and one on defense — while the Kentucky Wildcats were mentioned twice on offense, the Georgia Bulldogs twice on defense, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs and LSU getting a mention on offense and defense, respectively.

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Gators kicker Evan McPherson named to Lou Groza Award watch list

The Groza Award is given annually to the nation’s top placekicker. Last year, it was given to Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship.

UF kicker Evan McPherson has been named to the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Wednesday.

The Groza Award is given annually to the nation’s top placekicker. Last year, it was given to Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship.

From the watch list, 20 semifinalists will be chosen on Nov. 5. The list will then be further cut to three finalists on Nov. 24 before the winner is announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 10.

McPherson is no newcomer to the watch list; it’s the junior’s third time appearing on it in three seasons. As a true freshman in 2018, he was a semifinalist for the award, hitting 17 of 19 field goals. He repeated that performance as a sophomore, giving him the 10th-best field-goal percentage nationally (as well as the best in the SEC). He was accurate even from range, making 7 of 8 attempts from 40 yards or longer.

His 89.5 percent conversion rate on field goals is currently the best mark in school history and tied for the best career mark by an active FBS kicker with multiple seasons.

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