Miami Hurricanes 2018 NFL Draft Profile: Kicker Michael Badgley

One would not be mistaken if they were to consider the University of Miami as ‘Punter U’. With former Hurricane standouts such as Matt Bosher playing for the Atlanta Falcons, Justin Vogel punting for the Green Bay Packers and Matt O’Donnell holding similar duties for the Chicago Bears recently, no other school has more legs tasked with pinning teams within the 20-yard line.

However, UM will attempt to make a name in the place-kicking game as Michael Badgley hopes to make it in the NFL.

Finishing with 77 made field goals in his career, Badgley surpassed Carlos Huerta’s school record of 73 made field goals in 2017. After scoring six points in the Orange Bowl, Badgley became the all-time leader in points in UM history. An All-ACC member in his final three seasons at UM, Badgley was most recently named a First Team All-ACC member upon the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Measurables and Path to the Draft

Height: five-foot-ten

Weight: 178 pounds

High School: Summit Senior High School (New Jersey)

Michael Badgley’s Senior Profile

Strengths

• Career-Long 51 yard made field goal in his junior season (2015) against Florida State.
• Finished with a 74.1 FG percentage (sixth best in the ACC in 2017). Missed six attempts (17 of 23) in 2017.
• 45 of 46 on Point after Touchdown attempts (PAT) in 2017. Third-highest total in the ACC.
• In 2017, Badgley kicked off 75 times with a kickoff average of 63.05 per kickoff. 32 of those kicks resulted in a touchback, three of those kickoffs went out-of-bounds and two were onside kick attempts.
• Badgley had the seventh highest touchback percentage of any ACC kicker in 2017 at 42.67.
• Has a career average of 61.232 on kickoff average (added his four averages from each season and divided by four)
• Made a 50-yard field goal in the Senior Bowl. Missed a 55-yard attempt in the same game.

• Definitely has the leg strength to make NFL-range kicks.
• Badgley has an intriguing personality

• Mentally and emotionally tough enough to deal with the criticism and outrage from a miss. Take misses in the Orange Bowl and the ACC Championship game against Clemson as examples.
• Has made eight tackles in his college career (made five total tackles in 2017). Made no tackles in 2015.
• Resilient. After missed kicks, Badgley comes back to knock through his next attempt for the most part. While he does produce some head-shaking misses, Badgley does not get down on himself to turn one miss into a pattern of flubs.

Weaknesses

• Has missed FG attempts that would be considered chip shots in his career.
• Can not be hurried through his kicking process. When he does get rushed, he has a tendency to push the ball wide of the uprights.

Scout’s Take

Experienced kicker with decent accuracy under 50 yards, but troubling accuracy beyond that mark. Badgley’s inability to hammer kickoffs with consistent leg strength will also hurt his cause.

Lance Zierlein NFL.com Analyst

Final Wave

Badgley leaves the University of Miami with 403 career points and 77 made field goals, crowning the Summit, New Jersey native as the all-time leader in both respective categories. Badgley was reliable when called upon, but at the next level, he will need to be more consistent. Among the more condfident place-kickers in program history, Badgley should garner a training camp invite and compete for a job this preseason.

IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT THE U!