Oregon Ducks Recruiting: Local Specialist Staying in Eugene

The Oregon Ducks have landed class of 2025 kicker Rocco Graziano. Graziano is the highly touted kicker from nearby Sheldon High School in Eugene. He will be making the quick 10-minute drive from Sheldon to Autzen Stadium to kick for the Ducks next season.

Sheldon's Rocco Graziano kicks a field goal as the Sheldon Irish fell to West Linn 41-3 in a non league matchup at Sheldon High School in Eugene Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Although Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning has said being in the Big Ten Conference helps with recruiting nationwide, winning over recruits at home is good too.

Rocco Graziano announced Friday afternoon via social media that he had committed to Oregon. Scouts have been raving about Graziano’s kicking ability. He is ranked by “Chris Sailer Kicking” as the No. 59 kicker in the class of 2025. He also participated in July’s Saturday Night Live football camp.

Graziano has a strong leg and easily has a 50-yard-plus field goal range. Additionally, he has been a great punter for Sheldon.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning must have liked what he saw from the Eugene product and gave Graziano an offer late last month. With his commitment earlier today, Graziano is set to be staying in town and suiting up for the Ducks next year.

Ducks Trying to Replace School's All-Time Scoring Leader

Oregon players attempt to block a kick by kicker Grant Meadors during practice with the Oregon Ducks Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

For the past five seasons, the Oregon Ducks have relied on kicker Camden Lewis for field goals, extra points, and kickoffs. Last season, Lewis became the all-time scoring leader in the history of Oregon Ducks football. With Lewis now out of the picture, the Ducks will need to replace him.

Junior Atticus Sappington, senior Andrew Boyle, freshman Grant Meadors, and freshman Gage Hurych are the four Ducks placekickers on the roster for the 2024-25 season. It is expected that Sappington will be the one to primarily take field goals and extra points. For Oregon State last season, he was 13-for-14 on field goals and 49-for-50 on extra points.

When Graziano joins the team in 2025, he will have no shortage of competition if he wants to become the starting kicker. As Oregon and college football fans know, having a reliable kicker is hard to come by. Time will tell if any of these players can step up and take on the pressure of kicking for a team vying for a College football playoff spot year in and year out.

Reliable Kicker Vital for Ducks

If Oregon is going to get over the hump and win its first football national championship, having a glaring hole at any position is unacceptable. One position that has haunted the Ducks in the past has been kicker.

Having a shaky kicking game can be detrimental to a football team. It will do more than take three points off the board on missed field goals. It can cause coaches and players to second-guess every decision on a drive. If there is no confidence in a kicker to knock it through the uprights, the play calling will get ultra-aggressive. Sometimes, this can lead to successful conversions. However, it also leads to empty drives and the kicker on the sideline during a fourth down thinking about how his team doesn't believe in him. When he gets called upon later in the game or season, that thought can creep right back into his head in the biggest moment.

Having an unreliable kicking game is a big obstacle to overcome. The Ducks hope to have found a kicker in Rocco Graziano that will give them confidence every time he steps out onto the field.

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