Within the confines of the Gators football program in this year’s fall camp stands multiple questions surrounding special teams. With sophomore punter Jeremy Crawshaw to have the most leverage to the first-string job for his position, the other specialists at Florida will need to prove themselves to head coach Billy Napier and his staff. Besides Crawshaw, no other punter or kicker on the roster has kicked in a regular season game for the orange and blue.
With a mountain of walk-on guys to pick from, the kicker position will be up for grabs as former starting kickers Jace Christmann and Chris Howard have moved on from the Gators this season. Even though it may be too soon to expect a week one starter for Florida, there are a few names that could fill in the spot.
Kickers
Starting by seniority of grade, redshirt-sophomore Travis Freeman joined the program as a walk-on in the fall of 2019. Since walking on, Freeman has been named to the Southeastern Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll twice in his career (2020-21).
Even though an impressive academic accolade worthy enough to boast, he still hasn’t kicked a ball in a game since his high school days at Lakewood Ranch High School in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
This lack of on-the-field opportunities continued in the Orange and Blue game. Only former Gator Howard and current Gators redshirt freshman kicker Adam Mihalek were participants in Florida’s spring game.
Mihalek, who joined the team as a walk-on in the spring of 2021, impressed the Florida fan base at the spring game in April with his powerful right foot. Knocking down a 51-yard field goal that was one yard shy of the record for the longest field goal in a UF spring game.
The Tampa, Florida, native’s accuracy at any range is a key attribute to Mihalek’s game. Something that was missing from a special teams unit last season that managed to make only 10 out of 15 field goals, including a missed extra-point try in a close game against Alabama.
With the Gators attempting to revamp the kicker position, they also added true freshman Trey Smack from the signing class of 2022.
Smack is a three-star talent coming out of Severna Park, Maryland, who was ranked as a top 10 kicker in his recruiting class according to 247sports.
The six-foot-one kicker camped over the summer with the Gators and amazed the coaching staff enough that they offered him a spot on the team. Smack announced his commitment to the Gators on Jun.23 via Twitter. A dream coming true for the Maryland product.
“I was extremely excited and shocked,” Smack said of his Gators’ offer. “I’ve always wanted to play as a Gator and it was my dream to play football at such a high level.”
If Smack can continue to impress the Florida coaching staff in this year’s fall camp, he has a real shot at competing against Mihalek for the starting job.
Punter
Since being discovered through the ProKick Australia program in 2019, Crawshaw has showcased his raw kicking ability to the world and to the SEC as he made the All-SEC Freshman Team last season. The Aussie punter played in all of the 13 games in the 2021 season for the Gators, punting 52 times for an average of 44.1 yards.
With Crawshaw going into this year’s season as the favorite to be the starting punter, the real question is who will become the second-string guy behind him.
The punter with the longest tenure in the room is redshirt sophomore, Tyler Waxman. Mostly known as the hype man on the sidelines on gameday, cycling on top of other players and being given an anthem in “Waxman The Song”, Waxman is a fan favorite.
However, don’t let his entertainment value distract you from what he can do on the field.
During his high school career at West Broward High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida, Waxman was a swiss army knife in special teams. He not only punted for the West Broward Bobcats, but he also frequently kicked in kickoffs, and field goals and had the ability to kick balls sky high for about four + seconds in hang time in short punting distance scenarios.
Coming from the recruiting class of 2019 for the Gators, Waxman committed as a preferred walk-on under former head coach Dan Mullen.
Also a part of the 2019 recruiting class, redshirt sophomore John Brady walked on to the Gators football team in the fall of 2019, a semester after Waxman.
Brady is originally from Tallahassee, Florida, but attended the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, where he played both football and baseball. The multi-sport athlete was the punter and kicker for the Bulldogs, making 26 of 31 points after attempts and was two of three on-field goals. His longest field goal attempt was in his senior year as he converted on a 45-yard attempt.
However, we can’t go on without talking about the underdog story of the Gainesville native Jacob Watkins. The redshirt senior joined the football team as a walk-on in the spring of 2021.
While prepping at Buchholz High School, he attended both Richard Bland and Santa Fe college before making it onto the football program at Valdosta State in 2019. Despite this, Watkins has yet to punt in a collegiate game. Now with the Gators, he has that opportunity this season to do it in The Swamp.
As fall camp continues, Watkins and other Florida specialists will pursue that same opportunity this season.