Back in March, Florida State held its pro day on campus in Tallahassee. The main attractions for most talent evaluators were cornerback Azareye’h Thomas, who would be drafted in the third round by the Jets, and defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, a future Patriots fourth-rounder. But among the 18 players who worked out that day, the one who may end up having the biggest impact on the 2025 NFL season is kicker Ryan Fitzgerald—and not because, as coverage of the event noted, he nailed a 68-yard field goal in front of scouts.
After most attendees had left, Fitzgerald had an hour-long semiprivate meeting with a few curious NFL team reps. Dan Orner, a private kicking coach who had been working with Fitzgerald for a few years, says scouts from the Browns and Giants asked his pupil to go through an additional battery of workouts that showcased what Orner calls the kicker’s “bag of tricks.” For a year, Fitzgerald and Orner had been practicing ways to “knuckleball” a kickoff, with just this moment in mind.
