Special teams may not grab the headlines, but they can decide the scoreboard. Indiana fans learned that the hard way in Week 13 of 2024 against Ohio State, when a botched snap and a misdirected punt swung 14 points—and all the momentum—toward the Buckeyes. Yet, when it came to placekicking last season, Indiana’s edge was undeniable.
In his first full year as the Hoosiers’ starting placekicker, redshirt freshman Nicolas Radicic appeared in all 13 games and quickly rewrote the record book. He shattered Indiana’s single-season extra points made record in just nine games, finishing the year with 69, while also drilling 10 of his 11 field goal attempts.
Now a redshirt sophomore, Radicic is sharpening both his accuracy and his leg strength. “It’s a very long process. You’re playing with centimeters basically where you want to hit the ball,” Radicic stated about how he’s trying to build up his field goal range. “I’d say last year I was probably capping off in season at like 53, but then randomly against Purdue I was hitting 58 in the snow. Right now I feel pretty comfortable at 55, which means I could hit it further than that, but I feel comfortable sitting at 55 and I know I can make that kick.”
Radicic has been putting in the work to become the kicker head coach Curt Cignetti can trust when the game is on the line. While many kickers lean on elaborate pre-kick rituals, Radicic takes the opposite approach, stripping away the noise and keeping things as straightforward as possible.
“I just make it a fun thing. I don’t make it anything harder than it already is,” Nicolas Radicic said of his kicking process and mentality. “I am just there if the team needs me to knock down three points and if I make it anything harder than that I just keep putting stuff in my head that I don’t need. I just make it very simple for myself and kick the ball between the posts.”
Radicic has mastered the art of keeping a clear head, and last season’s numbers speak for themselves. Accuracy is his currency, and he’s been refining it for six years—ever since his freshman season of high school.
“When I started kicking, my kicking coach put me on the 20-yard line, and I wasn’t allowed to move. It was just the 20-yard line and you’re going to make it down the middle every single time,” Radicic recalled. “I probably was stuck on that 20-yard line for months. I could say probably half a year, six months, I was on that 20-yard line… It got to a point where I realized that I’m getting pretty accurate, and then when I get back to 45, when I get back to 55, it just feels like I’m on the 20-yard line and he’s right behind me watching me.” Nico explains how he worked on his accuracy.
He may not have landed on the Lou Groza preseason watch list or drawn national headlines, but Radicic is quietly one of Indiana’s most valuable weapons. This year will test him in hostile environments like Oregon’s Autzen Stadium and Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium—places where crowd noise and pressure can rattle even veteran kickers. If early signs are any indication, Radicic will be able to handle the pressure and will be a reliable kicker when the season rolls around.
Radicic and the Hoosiers will look to extend their home win streak to nine games when they take on the Old Dominion Monarchs on August 30th.