Stock Watch: 2025 Kickers On the Rise

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The state of Georgia has such a high reputation of producing great players at every skilled and line position, that it is almost overlooked how talented the Kickers, and Punters tend to be as well. Each year, Georgia sends kickers to the college level of play who end up going on to have successful collegiate careers. This does not happen overnight though, as kicking is one of the most pressured, and skilled roles in all of football. Not only are all eyes on the Kicker in crucial, gametime moments, but all negativity tends to fall on these players in the worst moments possible as well. For some of the more talented kickers, they find ways to overcome this, and it almost seems that being able to perform under pressure is in their blood. That is why we find it to be so much fun to identify players who have some of these traits at an early age, even if it is as a freshman, who is receiving playing time on varsity, or at the senior level of play. Those who are able to do so typically rise to the occasion as the years go by.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Brett Fitzgerald- Colquitt County</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Not only did Fitzgerald have one of the more impressive seasons for freshman last year, but he had a great season of kicking, regardless of his age, and class. In an 11-game span, he totaled 71 points, with an average of 6.5 points a game. If this isn’t impressive enough, the fact that he hit 50 PAT’s, with 7 total field goals should make your jaw drop. In doing so, he managed to catch the attention of many people, including college coaches looking to pay him more mind as the years go by. Fitzgerald has the intangibles to make kicks in pressured situations, while also being able to knock down short kicks with routine ease. His mechanics seem to be solid, and the timing and arc on the ball when he kicks seems to be pretty consistent as well. Look for him to continue to develop going into next season, and to slowly become one of the better kickers in his entire class, regardless of state.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Conner Deviney- Lovett</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For a freshman, Deviney had a very well-rounded season, including his performance with extra points, and field goals scored. Not only did his team use him very wisely, but he was able to maximize a lot of his potential, while being able to display growth in his freshman season. By the end of the year, Deviney had a total 52 points, with plenty of these points coming from field goals. In the 12-game span, he hit 6 total field goals, with 34 extra points. In doing so, he displayed that he had good timing on his kicks, decent range, and good accuracy. Deviney also proved to be able to be efficient  from different parts of the field, no matter what the difficulty was. Next season, we want to be able to see a bigger sample size of his kicking, and overall consistency when the game is in his hands under pressured situations. We have high expectations for him, but realize that he is very young in his craft. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Arthur Lefler- Adairsville</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Not only does Lefler have a high level of talent, but he was efficiently used in the extra point game last season. By the end of the year, Lefler had totaled 33 extra points, which he managed to achieve in an 11-game span. Because of this, he finished the season with an average of 3 points a game, which is very efficient for his age. Lefler has a decently strong leg, and we like the height that he gets on a ball, and accuracy that he is already displaying. Moving into the future, we think that he has plenty of development left, especially in pressured situations, as well as kicks from the hash, including deeper kicks from the same position. Look for him to continue to grow when he gains more time on a field. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Banks Johnson- Southwest Georgia Academy</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Plenty of fans that follow kicking may not think that Johsnon has as much promise going into next season as we do, but we see plenty of talent due to the efficiency and his time on the field as a freshman. By the end of the season, he had managed to have a little over two points a game as an average, while also being able to hit 23 total extra points by the end of the season. Johnson also managed to do this over a 9 game span, and we are impressed that his team trusted him enough to be able to take on these responsibilities as a young player. Moving into the future, we do believe that he will take on more of a full-time role as their starting kicker, which will ultimately show how formidable he is, especially when he attempts field goals, whenever he is able to control the direction and accuracy of his kicks. Regardless, Johnson has a decently strong leg, and an okay follow through, we just think that he needs to work on his overall arc, accuracy, and timing. </span>