Nebraska Football: Walk-on kicker is a welcome addition

Nebraska Football picked up a commitment from a kicker on Monday.

Nebraska Football is going to get a little more help in their kicking game. Chase Contreraz committed to Nebraska on Monday. He is a walk-on kicker who played at Iowa Western Community College.

This kicking commitment is certainly one that is valuable from a positional standpoint. Nebraska, as you all know, had a ton of problems with their kicking game. Maybe, Contreraz will be able to fix that in the future. In 11 games for Iowa Western in 2019, he was 13-of-16 in field goals and 40-of-42 an extra points. With 79 points on the season, he certainly had a successful year.

He had three games of at least 10 points on the year. His best game came on September 28. Against Dodge city Community College, he went three-of-four in field goals and converted all four extra points. Scoring 13 on the day, this was certainly a game where his impact was felt. Looking at his statistics, he had five perfect games. That is certainly encouraging, as Nebraska definitely needs that type of consistency in the kicking game.

According to a report from Sam McKewon of the Omaha-World Herald, Contreraz is certainly has the option to start right now. With the inconsistencies that the kicking game has had this season, I wouldn’t consider that a major stretch. I like the idea of it as well. He is a relative unknown who is going to challenge the other kickers in the program. Maybe, this will challenge the other players at the position to perform better or light a competitive fire under them. Nothing should be off the table in regards to kicking options. It seems that as far as Coach Frost sees it, the kicker could play right now

"“He said based on what he’d seen in practice, I could start for Nebraska right now,” Contreraz said."

The more kicking help Nebraska Football can get, the better. I would love for Nebraska to be able to have a consistent kicker throughout the entirety of the season. I understand injuries played a part last year. However, it was more than just injuries. It was about consistency at the position.

It will be interesting to see how Nebraska chooses to address the position. Will they go with the kickers they have on the roster? Alternatively, will they look for additional help? It’s one of the big questions that should be answered before next season. They have plenty of time to address it. Hopefully, they evaluate the position thoroughly.