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Returners and Newcomers for Mizzou Football in 2022: Specialists

Two kickers. One established, and one new. Both with power that isn’t usually seen by specialists.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: FEB 02 Reese’s Senior Bowl Practice Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Throughout the remainder of the offseason, I’ll be putting a spotlight on one returning player and one newcomer at each position who’s generally intriguing for the 2022 season. There are plenty of avenues of thought when it comes to who you may think is most interesting, so feel free to voice your opinion down below in the comments!

Returner: Harrison Mevis, K

It’s been well documented that Harrison Mevis is among the best kickers in the country. He’s checked all of the boxes that a team would need from their kicker. He’s shown impeccable accuracy, a knack for making the biggest kicks at the biggest moments, and one of the biggest legs.

Mevis has been perfect on extra points in his career, so there’s not exactly a whole lot of room for improvement there.

On field goals, however, there is a little bit of room for improvement, but only because he’s sitting at a career average of 88.9%. Nobody’s perfect; he does have five career misses. So, technically yes, he can improve, but it would be difficult to get much better. Improvement, no matter how small, surely would put him on track to be one of the most accurate kickers in NCAA history.

Missouri v Arkansas Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

In 2022, I’m hoping that Mevis will be used more as a weapon in the kicking game. He has the ability to make long distance kicks, and as soon as the offense crosses the 50 yard line, they’re bordering on his range. The Tigers should use that to their advantage more often, and trot Mevis out for longer kicks more often.

Newcomer: Nick Quadrini, K/P

Nick Quadrini, out of Springfield Kickapoo, has an absolute cannon for a leg.

Living in the Springfield area, I was able to catch Kickapoo play several times over the course of the season, and when they had to kickoff or punt, watching him was a real “wow” experience.

The moment the ball is kicked, you could hear audible “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” marveling at the pure power a high school kid could muster up. Then again, if you follow Quadrini, you’d see where all of that strength comes from.

That is extremely impressive for a regular high school football player, but for your kicker?Awesome.

Quadrini is behind the aforementioned Harrison Mevis, as well as Sean Koetting, so he may not be kicking the ball very much in the early stages of his career. That said, he was an outstanding punter in high school as well, so perhaps we see him punting the ball away. Regardless, Quadrini is a nice player who has gone through the Kohl’s camp circuit and truly works to hone his craft. He’ll be a welcomed addition at Missouri.

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