With the Wisconsin Badgers football team set to begin their training camp at UW-Platteville on July 29, the team’s kicker Nathanial Vakos held a kicking camp in Madison this past week.
Vakos welcomed aspiring kickers to join him at Edgewood High School in Madison, teaching the young athletes some of the lessons that he wished he had learned when he was their age.
The junior is entering his second season with the Badgers after transferring to Wisconsin following his freshman season at Ohio University. In 2023, Vakos made 15 of 19 field-goal attempts, including a perfect 8-for-8 to start the season. He is the first Wisconsin kicker to reach that mark since Matt Davenport in 1998.
Vakos will look to extend his range in year two with the program after he went only 1-for-4 on field goals longer than 50 yards in 2023. He may have more opportunities in general as the Badgers will look to take a leap offensively in their second season under offensive coordinator Phil Longo.
KICK IT FORWARD
Wisconsin's Nathanial Vakos is teaching Madison's youth how to succeed as a kicker, something he wishes some taught him in high school. #Badgers @nathanial_vakos pic.twitter.com/HwQE0GFCME
— Andrew Bandstra (@andrewbandstra) July 21, 2024