Michigan State football was in Florida on Wednesday scouting a 2024 kicker with a familiar name and NFL bloodlines.
Let me just put it as straightforward as possible. The field goal-kicking game for Michigan State football in 2022 was abysmal. Fans complained about it. Mel Tucker admitted it. For several games, we would not even attempt field goals.
Michigan State is hopeful that Jonathan Kim, a transfer kicker from North Carolina, might be the answer for this season. But is he the long-term solution? That remains to be seen. He is a senior this year but would have a COVID-19 bonus year potentially.
Regardless of Kim’s ability to stabilize the kicking game, Michigan State is going to need some future help. That help may have been discovered on Wednesday outside of Tampa, Fla., and it comes with a name you might recognize: Nico Gramatica. That name might ring a bell for some football fans. Nico is the son of former NFL kicker Martin Gramatica and nephew of former NFL kicker Bill Gramatica.
It’s safe to say, kicking runs in Nico’s family. He and his brother Gaston are both kickers in high school.
Nico is going into his senior season and has become one of the most highly-touted kickers in the 2024 cycle. According to National Kicking Rankings, Nico actually is the No. 1 ranked kicker in the cycle. According to Nico on Twitter, MSU’s staff was in Tampa today checking him out.
Nico attends Cambridge Christian outside of Tampa. Signing him could go a long way in helping to get the kicking game back in order. With his family being from Argentina, you can expect soccer plays a big part in Nico’s life as well. The tape on him as both a placekicker and a soccer player shows a really strong leg and some great accuracy. His longest kick so far is 55 yards, which would be a welcome sight in East Lansing.
So far, it appears Nico has visited Florida a couple of times. An offer from Michigan State football has not been noted as of yet but hopefully after Wednesday’s visit, one could be coming soon.
We Michigan State fans were very spoiled over several eras of kicking. From Brett Swenson to Michael Geiger. Kicker after kicker left their mark of consistency in East Lansing. Matt Coghlin was our most recent success story however the end of his last season was hampered by a groin injury.
Stay tuned with us at Spartan Shadows for all your future recruiting updates regarding Nico and all other 2024 players.
