Caleb Sturgis became the sixth former Gator football player drafted today when the Miami Dolphins selected him 164th overall in the fifth round.
While it’s not unheard of for a kicker to be selected in the fifth round, it’s not typical. Most teams are content with the kicker they already have, with waiting until the seventh round or signing an undrafted free agent.
However, Sturgis is more than deserving of being selected.
Sturgis finished his career at Florida 70-for-88 on field goal attempts and 130-for-136 on extra point attempts. His 70 made field goals is a University of Florida record and his 340 points scored is third all-time at Florida. He was a two-time All-American, finished as a finalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2010 and 2011 and was named first team All-SEC.
Sturgis has a very strong leg, deep NFL range and a lot of experience kicking field goals at 50-plus yards.
Sturgis has missed some time in his career with various injuries. Sturgis received a medical redshirt in 2010 after a back injury sidelined him. Sturgis also missed time in his senior year with a different injury. So while some teams may throw up a red flag when they see these injuries, kicker isn’t a position that you would necessarily be worried about a player getting injured often.
In Sturgis, the Dolphins are getting a solid, dependable kicker who can start from day one. The Dolphins have not been happy with current kicker, Dan Carpenter, and Sturgis will contend for playing time right away.
Sturgis joins Jelani Jenkins, Mike Pouncy and Mike Gillislee as former Gator football players now in Miami. Mike Pouncey already tweeted that he will be handing out Gator t-shirts to all of his teammates on Monday.