Florida Gators: Evan McPherson should have a successful NFL career

As one of the most incredible people on planet earth, Pat McAfee would say, “For The Brand!” And former Florida Gators kicker Evan McPherson is “For The Brand!”

McPherson leaves Florida as one of the greatest kickers in the program’s history. McPherson ended his career ranked first in SEC history with his 85% field goal percentage, which was also good enough for the 14th best ever in NCAA history. He hit 51 of his 60 field goals while also knocking in 149 extra points out of 150 attempts (99.3%).

Many Gators fans will have nightmares of his missed kick against LSU, and I’m sure McPherson will too. However, his contribution to the Gators as a whole should overshadow that blemish on his resume.

McPherson’s career-long came against Ole Miss in 2020, when he connected on a 55-yard bomb. He had plenty of great games to remember as well.

His freshman season, he went 3-3 on his field goal attempts, hitting from 21, 25, and 43 yards while also going 4-4 on his extra points. In his sophomore season, McPherson took over the Orange Bowl with his leg, hitting all three of his field goal attempts of 23, 49, and 42 yards. He also added three extra points.

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He reached his career-high in points his senior season, accounting for 15 total points in Week 1 against Ole Miss. McPherson went 3-3 with kicks from 55, 37, and 23 and then hit all six of his extra-point attempts.

McPherson was named SEC Special Teams played of the week in 2020 after his impressive kicking performance against Georgia when he went 3-4 with kicks from 50, 51, and 34 while also hitting all five of his extra s points.

It is not every day that a kicker leaves early for the NFL Draft, but McPherson decided to skip his senior season to pursue his NFL dream.

I think it was an intelligent decision, as McPherson should get drafted in the later rounds. There may be some cap casualties with the newly reduced COVID-19 impacted salary cap, so McPherson will likely have a good market.

McPherson was dependable during his time at Florida, and the former Gators kicker should have a long, successful career in the NFL.