FSU football: Will Ricky Aguayo finish ‘Noles career strong?

FSU football has had a strong kicking game over the past few decades. Will Ricky Aguayo have a bounce back year in his final year?

FSU football and “Aguayo” seem to go hand-in-hand when it comes to kicking field goals. The origins began in 2013 when redshirt freshman Roberto Aguayo helped the Noles win a national championship and set all types of scoring records.

It was only natural for his younger brother Ricky Aguayo to follow in his footsteps and enroll at FSU in 2016.

It looked as if he’d pick up right where his older brother left off by making six of six field goals against Ole Miss in the first game of the season to help the Noles overcome a 28-6 second quarter deficit.

He made 19 of 26 field goals as a true freshman and improved his sophomore season by making 18 of 21.

I did figure Aguayo would be used a bit less in 2018 because Willie Taggart is much more aggressive going for it on fourth downs instead of settling for long field goals.

He finished his junior season statistically the worst of his career.

Aguayo made just 11 of 17 field goals and never seemed particularly reliable even from distances one would think he’d be comfortable from.

Will that change in 2019? It better because the Noles signed one of the top kickers in the nation last recruiting cycle in Ryan Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald will likely redshirt if Aguayo can hold things together, but there’s little reason to think he won’t be given a shot at playing time if Aguayo struggles as he did last season.

The FSU offense struggled to move the ball last season which limited Aguayo’s chances and arguably could have impacted him performance. I suppose it can affect a kicker if you have no idea of when or if you’ll have a shot at kicking a field goal in a game.

I liken it to being a pinch hitter in baseball. Here’s to hoping Aguayo will have a strong senior season which will allow Fitzgerald to acclimate to college life and be the guy in 2020.