Published Jun 15, 2017
Ranking the Big Ten: Kicker
Staff
HuskerOnline.com

As the 2017 season draws nearer by the day, it’s time to start taking a look at some of the top players to watch in the Big Ten Conference.

We continue our Ranking the Big Ten series today with the kickers, a group that could very well boast some of the top scorers in league history when all is said and done.

Previous Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG | C | DT | DE | OLB | ILB | S | CB

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1. Emmit Carpenter, Minnesota

After supplanting Ryan Santoso as Minnesota’s starting place kicker in the spring of 2016, Emmit Carpenter quickly solidified himself as arguably the Big Ten’s best.

The sophomore from Green Bay, Wis., connected on 22 of his 24 field goal attempts (91.6%) and was named the Big Ten’s Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year, becoming the first Golden Gopher to win the award.

Carpenter ended up scoring 109 points last season, tying for second on the school’s all-time list. He was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors (media).

Carpenter now enters his junior campaign as a 2017 preseason first-team all-conference selection by both Lindy’s and Athlon.

2. Tyler Davis, Penn State

Carpenter ended up earning the title as the Big Ten’s top kicker last year, but Penn State’s Tyler Davis definitely wasn’t far behind him.

Also a first-team all-conference selection (coaches), Davis has hit 30 of his 32 career field goal attempts and all 73 of his extra points after transferring to PSU as a former soccer player at Bradley.

While Davis’s accuracy is as good as there is in the country, his leg strength is probably the only question mark, as his longest field goal last season was only from 40 yards out.

Still, Davis comes into his senior year as a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection by Street & Smith’s and a second-team pick by both Lindy’s and Athlon.

3. Drew Brown, Nebraska

For some reason, Drew Brown hasn’t gotten the same national attention as his predecessors on Nebraska’s long list of heralded place kickers.

But all the senior from Southlake, Texas, has done throughout is career is etch his name alongside some of the most accomplished kickers in program history.

Brown topped 100 points in his first two seasons with the Huskers and is now 47-of-62 on field goals in his career.

Though 2016 was the first time he didn’t crack the scoring century mark, Brown still connected on 12 of his 14 field goal attempts and all 38 of his extra points.

Now with 282 career points, Brown ranks seventh on NU’s all-time list and fourth among kickers. Assuming he can match his numbers from earlier in his career, Brown would be on pace to move into the top three on the school’s all-time scoring list.

Also, Brown’s 47 career made field goals currently rank third in NU history and are just 21 behind Alex Henery’s school record (68).

4. Griffin Oakes, Indiana

When all is said and done, Griffin Oakes will go down as the best kicker Indiana has ever had.

The senior from Greenwood, Ind., enters this season already tied for the school record with 53 made field goals and is tied for third on the career extra points list.

The 2015 Big Ten Kicker of the Year is also fourth on the Hoosiers’ career chart with 268 total points.

Oakes should have even higher numbers had he not gone through a disappointing junior year in 2016, when he made just 16-of-26 field goals.

Still, those 16 makes ranked fifth in the conference and tied for fourth on IU’s single-season list.

5. Rafael Gaglianone, Wisconsin

Rafael Gaglianone was on pace for a record-setting year in 2016 before being sidelined by season-ending back surgery after just three games.

When he was playing, Gaglianone was nearly automatic, as he started off connecting on a Big Ten best 7-of-8 field goals and all 10 extra points.

Assuming he is back to 100 percent, the senior will return as the Badgers’ starting kicker and will look to pick up where left off before the injury.

Along with tying the school record with 14 consecutive made field goal attempts as a freshman in 2014, Gaglianone has proven to be one of the most clutch kickers in the conference, already posting a UW record three game-winning field goals.