How do you go from NEVER having kicked an American Football, to inside a year having your first ever kick be in a @nfl game, for the win?
Sounds impossible.
Charlie Smyth 🇮🇪 of @Saints showed it’s possible.How he did it in the comments below + vids. #leaderkicking #NFLIPP pic.twitter.com/BJQ3NSnlIU
— Tadhg Leader (@TadhgLeader) August 12, 2024
It’s been a full calendar year since Charlie Smyth kicked his first American football. Now the New Orleans Saints’ rookie kicker is booting field goals from 65 yards and pushing for a job at training camp. That’s impressive no matter how you slice it.
Here’s a look at Smyth’s progress from his trainer, starting with his first try in Northern Ireland back in Aug. 2023 and running up through his training in South Florida to preseason game-winning field goal against the Arizona Cardinals this preseason.
Can Smyth win the job? Maybe so. But there’s more to kicking in the NFL than hitting long-distance field goals. Saints coach Dennis Allen has said he wants to see more consistency from Smyth at moderate ranges inside 50 yards, where the team is more likely to try field goals anyway, as well as on kickoffs. But Smyth has clearly put in a ton of work. If he can finish strong this preseason he just might push Blake Grupe aside just like he displaced Wil Lutz last summer.
