Better Know A Bearcats Position Group: Place Kicker

The Cincinnati Bearcats were just awful at the place kicker position in 2013. There’s just no way to sugar coat how morbid Tony Miliano truly was last season. He made just 7 of 17 field goal attempts (41.2% percentage, 2nd to last in college football) and even shanked a pair of extra points.

As a result, Miliano and freshman transfer Andrew Gantz were given the opportunity to battle it out for the starting position in the spring and during summer training camp.

Tony Miliano (#14): Senior

No one really knows what the heck happened to him in 2013. The year prior, Miliano was solid, nailing over 77% of his field goals as a sophomore. But everything unraveled last season as I’m sure the mental pressure continued to build with each missed kick. However, with an offseason to clear his head, word around camp is that Miliano has righted the ship and retaken the job from Andrew Gantz. I’d love to see him go out strong as a senior, making over 80% of his attempts and forever putting 2013 in the rear view mirror.

Andrew Gantz (#55): Redshirt Freshman

Gantz was a late addition to the 2014 class. He originally committed to Tennessee as a preferred walk-on but opted to accept a scholarship at Cincinnati. He’s not as tall or lanky as Miliano but has a live leg and decent accuracy. If he doesn’t overtake the senior in the upcoming season, which all signs point to that not happening, Gantz should be the starter in 2015.