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The Sun Devils should have no issue replacing the NCAA’s highest-scoring kicker and last season’s Lou Groza Award winner, Zane Gonzalez, who was recently selected by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the NFL draft.
The reason: Incoming freshman kicker Brandon Ruiz, who shared a video of himself drilling a 78-yard field goal Saturday on Twitter.
Broke my record today with a 78-Yard Field Goal off the Ground #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/UCuEk3ADGE
— Brandon Ruiz (@BrandonRRuiz) May 6, 2017
Ruiz, a listed 5-foot-10, 165-pounder out of Williams Field (Gilbert, Ariz.), hasn’t shied away from showing off his huge leg before.
As a sophomore, he once made a 67-yard kick on May 2, 2015.
Slightly little less than a year later, he made a 76-yarder on April 25, 2016.
Perhaps the near-annual tradition of displaying his improved distance thrills Arizona State fans, although pedigree may be what’s most intriguing about the slender marksman.
Ruiz originally committed to Alabama in June 2016, but re-opened his recruitment in January only to choose the Sun Devils later in the month.
Along with the Crimson Tide, Arizona and Tennessee were said to be in on the consensus three-star placekicker, whom some recruiting services touted as the best in the country.
Ruiz’s kicking prowess makes him a viable option to become ASU’s starter the moment he steps onto campus. However, the Sun Devils also have an option in redshirt junior John O’Brien, a former First-Team All-District performer (5A Texas).
Whether one or the other rises to the top, ASU should certainly be confident in the potential it’s able to boast at the position moving forward.