Three-way Battle for Field Goal Kicker Heating Up as Fall Camp Rolls On

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

The Hoosiers have a three-way battle for the field goal kicking position taking place between Chris Freeman, Nicolas Radicic and Alejandro Quintaro this season. One of those three will have to replace Charles Campbell, who transferred to Tennessee in the offseason. After a shaky spring scrimmage, special teams coordinator Kasey Teegardin is more confident in his group at the moment.

“I feel really good about where we’re at right now moving forward with those three guys and it’s exciting to see.” Teegardin said.

Freeman returns with the most experience as he handled the kickoff duties last year. He has not kicked a field goal, but has hit both of his extra points. Freeman is set to be the kickoff specialist again in 2023.

“Chris (Freeman) has done a better much job recently in the past week and a half.” Teegardin said.

Alejandro Quintaro also returns after serving in a back up role in 2022. He played in a single game in 2022, but has shown he could find his way on to the field in a number of roles.

The newcomer to the competition is Nicolas Radicic, a high school all-American, who joined the team over the summer. Radicic comes in with something to prove in a wide open competition.

“He’s got a chip on his shoulder. The thing I’ll give Nico a lot of credit for is he’s an extremely confident, young man. Very pleased with him so far.” Teegardin said.

None of the three kickers have much college experience, if any at all, kicking field goals. However, Radicic has been put into those situations and experienced them in high school.

“He is a freshman, you try to build it and bring him along slowly and adapt him into the environment because it’s going to be different. He comes from a big-time high school that plays some really good football down in Texas. He’s kicked in the All-American game so he’s been in pressure situations which you love. We’re going to put him in pressure situations, we put him in one today and he answered the call.” Teegardin explained.

With IU being a team who needs to play as clean football as possible, the field goal kicking has to be a strength.