Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo’s practice results during his rookie season were followed closely because every miss served to confirm the feelings of those that felt the team gave up too much when they traded up to the second round of the 2016 draft to take him.
Even if that wasn’t the case, Aguayo wouldn’t have flown under the radar because there were plenty of misses in camp and in the regular season. Aguayo finished the year 31-of-43 on field goals and missed two extra points, which meant that he was thrust into a competition with veteran Nick Folk for the job this year.
Friday was a good day for Aguayo in that competition. He made all of his kicks, leading coach Dirk Koetter to say it was a “lights-out” day for the second-year kicker. Aguayo explained that he’s “just having fun with” camp this year, which may be easier with fewer daily updates on his performance.
“I was just making it more than what it really is,” Aguayo said, via the team’s website. “You come into the NFL and you think…there are things that you’ve got to do a little better. It’s a job. But at the end of the day, keep doing what you’re doing. Take it back to when you were young and all you did was go out there and have fun. Enjoy the ride. That’s one of the things Coach Koetter says, ‘Enjoy the ride,’ and I’m trying to do more of that.”
Aguayo may be back in the spotlight when the Bucs’ run on Hard Knocks and the preseason schedule get underway, but if he can keep enjoying himself he’ll be a good bet to remain the kicker in Tampa this year.