Tag: Jace Christmann

Florida kicker put on spring scholarship

At least one walk-on at Florida is being put on scholarship for the spring semester, according to Billy Napier.

After serving as the team’s primary kicker in 2022, walk-on [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] has been awarded a scholarship for the spring semester, according to head coach Billy Napier during his national signing day press conference.

While Mihalek is the only walk-on being put on scholarship right now, Napier said that the team would continue to evaluate over the spring with one spot still freed up. For Napier, the move was an obvious one after Mihalek served as a starter for the entirety of the 2022 season.

“We did. Adam in particular,” Napier replied when asked if the team had put anyone on scholarship for the offseason. “He’s certainly very deserving. His role and how he contributed to our team this past year. We’ll have a handful more, but I think we’re going to observe the work this spring before we make those decisions.”

Mihalek passed up scholarship offers out of high school from Liberty, Navy and Stetson to play at Florida, and that gamble is paying off after two years with the program. He didn’t appear in a game in 2021 but quickly became the team’s only option after [autotag]Chris Howard[/autotag] transferred and [autotag]Jace Christmann[/autotag] graduated. Mihalek was the lone kicker on the team for a month or two before true freshman [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag] enrolled over the summer, giving him a head start on the competition.

He made 14 of 21 field goal attempts for Florida in 2022, but three of those misses were from 50 yards or more. Mihalek hit as many 50-yarders as he missed too, nailing three throughout the year. He also extended the school’s historic scoring streak to 436 games with a late field goal against Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl.

[mm-video type=video id=01gqnamtcc7z2cq9yqtw playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gqnamtcc7z2cq9yqtw/01gqnamtcc7z2cq9yqtw-3ba3911def3cdc2d1ce2a297e4e42620.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=100750,100707,100705,100703,100627]

[listicle id=100633]

[listicle id=100677]

[listicle id=100739]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida kicker Chris Howard to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal

Florida redshirt senior kicker Chris Howard announced on Twitter Monday that he will play his final season of college football elsewhere.

Florida redshirt senior kicker [autotag]Chris Howard[/autotag] announced his decision on Twitter to enter the NCAA transfer portal on Monday. He only has one year left of eligibility.

“Gator Nation, thank you for the countless memories, the relationships that will last a lifetime, and for the endless support over the last five years,” Howard wrote. “To all my coaches, trainers, professors, and to everyone else who contributed to making my journey at Florida so special, I cannot begin to say how grateful I am for the opportunities.

“As I enter my 6th and final year of my collegiate football career, my family and I have decided it’s time to see where the next stop on my journey will take me. I will be entering the transfer portal with 1 year of eligibility remaining and am beyond excited to see what’s next. Thanks again, and Go Gators!”

Howard handled the responsibilities in the short-kicking game while Mississippi State transfer [autotag]Jace Christmann[/autotag] was tasked with attempting deeper field goals. Howard went seven for nine on field-goal tries with the longest one coming in at 42 yards. He also converted 31 out of 32 extra-point attempts in 2021.

The media observed Howard leaving many practices early with the group of players, going to rehab for an injury they suffered. For the Orange and Blue game, Howard wasn’t on the Blue team with the rest of the first-team offense. Instead, it was redshirt freshman walk-on [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] who nailed his attempts from 48 and 52 yards out. Howard missed his only try from 32 yards out.

[mm-video type=video id=01g1jx7xv8pjszsjch6f playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g1jx7xv8pjszsjch6f/01g1jx7xv8pjszsjch6f-2e713e1fdceac1c75dd4f45ded3dcc24.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=82910,82908,82887,82880,82863]

[listicle id=81723]

[vertical-gallery id=82369]

[vertical-gallery id=82538]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Florida depth chart remains unchanged against South Carolina

It might be Emory Jones under center again for Florida if Anthony Richardson can’t go, but the rest of the depth chart is the same as it usually is.

Florida’s depth chart rarely changes from week to week. Head coach Dan Mullen has a propensity for keeping his plans quiet, and he only changes things up publicly when a player leaves the team or goes down with an injury.

Anthony Richardson left his first start of the year last week against Georgia with a concussion, but it’s unclear who will be under center for Florida against South Carolina. Emory Jones is listed at the top quarterback spot, but he was also technically listed ahead of Richardson last week as well. Richardson stayed on the depth chart when he sat out for three games earlier in the season with an injured hamstring, so he could be back in that “emergency only” role this week.

The other depth chart issue that became clear during the Georgia game was the issues at kicker. Jace Christmann missed two kicks last weekend, one of which was from just 23 yards out. Chris Howard‘s missed point-after attempt against Alabama lost him the job to Christmann. The question now is whether or not Mullen will make another change.

A final depth chart note is that Dameon Pierce and Malik Davis are both still listed as the starting running backs. Both have been great this year, but Mullen has begun to face criticism for not getting the ball to Pierce more often. Sophomore Nay’Quan Wright has almost as many carries as the two seniors, but Florida’s production on the ground has been slipping. This final stretch could be a fruitful one for Davis and Pierce if Florida gets back to what worked at the beginning of the year.

[lawrence-related id=60132,59806,59801,59780,59751]

[listicle id=59330]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Jace Christmann rejoins Dan Mullen to compete for starting kicking job

Christmann was one of the best kickers in Mississippi State history, and he’ll compete for the starting job at Florida in 2021.

Name: Jace Christmann

Number: 47

Position: Kicker

Class: Redshirt senior

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 200 lbs

Hometown: Houston, Texas

High School: Memorial

Previous School: Mississippi State

Twitter: @jchristmann47

2020 statistics:

XPM XPA XP%
5 5 100

Overview:

Originally from Houston, Christmann was recruited to play kicker under Dan Mullen at Mississippi State in 2016. He redshirted his first year on campus but became the team’s starting placekicker his final 11 games as a redshirt freshman in 2017. He was perfect on 42 extra-point tries and was 12 of 14 on field-goal attempts for the season.

Mullen departed for Florida following the season, but Christmann retained his starting job under new coach Joe Moorhead. However, he was slightly less effective than the season before. He didn’t miss any PATs once again, but his field-goal percentage dropped to 75% on 12-of-16 kicking.

He took fewer attempts during his redshirt junior season in 2019, but he made eight of his 10 tries. However, he did have the first missed PAT in his career that season. When Moorhead was fired after the season, new coach Mike Leach decided to go in a different direction at kicker in 2020.

Christmann only appeared in three games and didn’t attempt any field goals. He attempted five PATs for the season and made all of them. With his starting job lost, Christmann entered the transfer portal after the season, ultimately rejoining the coach who recruited him at Florida.

Heading into his final season of eligibility in 2021, Christmann is the favorite to win the starting job, but he faces competition from another redshirt senior in Chris Howard, who has been the team’s backup kicker for a while now and impressed starting in place of Evan McPherson against Missouri last season.

[listicle id=48013]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Competition for Florida’s starting kicker job is reportedly still open

Jace Christmann is expected to be the starter, but don’t count out redshirt senior Chris Howard.

Florida has the difficult task in replacing the most accurate kicker in SEC history in Evan McPherson this season. Though it will be hard to find someone quite as reliable as the fifth-round pick was during his UF career, the Gators have a couple of intriguing candidates.

The guy many expected to be the starter is Jace Christmann, a transfer from Mississippi State who coach Dan Mullen initially recruited back in 2017. Christmann was one of the better kickers in Bulldogs history statistically, but he lost his starting job in 2020 under new coach Mike Leach. For his career, he’s 32 of 40 on field-goal attempts and only missed one of his 128 PATs.

He rejoined Mullen in Gainesville this offseason, with many assuming he would replace McPherson. But he won’t take that job without a fight.

Redshirt senior Chris Howard has been this team’s backup for the last four years, but his consistency isn’t lost on the coaches. When McPherson missed the game against Missouri in 2020 due to COVID-19, Howard made the start and was 5 for 5 on PATs and 2 for 2 on field goals.

Mullen discussed the competition between the two on Thursday.

“Yeah, it’ll be a good little competition between those two guys,” Mullen said, according to Bob Redman of 247Sports. “You know, obviously, Chris has been with the program since I’ve been here and I’ve seen unbelievable improvement of him from one year to the next within our program. I think, comes into the year with a lot of confidence.

[lawrence-related id=49585,48560]

“And then obviously, Jace, knowing Jace, recruiting Jace out of high school, having him play for me. Heck, you know, I mean he scored the points the last time we were in a stadium and I was just on the opposite sideline this time. He’s the one that scored the points when we went out there to play him a couple years ago at Mississippi State against us. So, I know that he has experience and a background.”

Given Christmann’s starting experience, it would seem that he remains the favorite to win the job. But Howard certainly can’t be counted out, and Mullen said he expects the competition to help both players.

“It’ll be a good little battle for those two guys,” he said. “But I think they work together and it gives us the opportunity to make sure we have two kickers that are ready to go play.”

The kicking competition will be one of several intriguing position battles to keep an eye on as we approach kickoff for the 2021 season.

[lawrence-related id=49669,49666,49642,49619,49617]

[listicle id=48013]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.