BATON ROUGE, La. – Francisco Velez previously spent Saturdays watching football.
Not on the sidelines with the rest of the Gators, but at home with his family and girlfriend.
The walk-on kicker had not traveled with Florida during his three seasons with the team, a span of 44 games and a lot more practices.
Velez found out his Saturday plans would be changing Thursday when special teams coordinator Jeff Choate told him he would make the trip with the team to LSU.
Velez made the most of his college debut, booting two field goals — a 44-yarder in the first quarter and a 27-yard attempt in the fourth — during No. 17 Florida’s 17-6 loss to No. 10 LSU in front of 92,980 fans at Tiger Stadium.
“The first one, I wasn’t that nervous,” Velez said. “The second one, the stadium got a lot louder.”
Velez made the trip instead of senior walk-on kicker Brad Phillips. Phillips and redshirt freshman Austin Hardin have each struggled this season, prompting coach Will Muschamp to give Velez an opportunity.
For the Ocala native, the chance of a lifetime was one he had almost given up on.
“I was starting to doubt myself, since this is coming to an end next year,” Velez said of being given an opportunity. “I just kept thinking positive that I would, and I finally got it.”
It remains unclear how the breakdown of field-goal attempts will be decided.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Muschamp indicated Hardin, who possesses the strongest leg, would handle kicks from the 30-yard line and farther while Velez would attempt the rest.
Afterward, Muschamp tabbed Velez, who had not attempted a live field goal since high school, as Florida’s kicker for the time being.
“He did a fantastic job,” Muschamp said. “Frankie Velez will be our kicker right now.”
Punting situation still shaky: Junior Kyle Christy had the game of his life last year against LSU. A year later, Florida’s quarterback out-punted him.
Tyler Murphy booted a 36-yard punt that Florida downed at the LSU 1-yard line in the second quarter. The end-over-end kick looked reminiscent of the three kicks Christy dropped within the 20 against the Tigers last season during the Gators’ 14-6 victory in Gainesville.
Christy, a Ray Guy Award finalist last season, had two touchbacks and zero punts inside the 20 on Saturday, which was especially displeasing for the UF coaching staff during a game when field position was critical.
Backup punter Johnny Townsend was expected to redshirt this season but has been mentioned several times as a replacement for the struggling Christy.
“We had opportunities to pin them in field position, and we didn’t,” Muschamp said. “Kyle had two opportunities, and he didn’t do it. I’ll open it up. We seriously considered during the game taking the redshirt off Townsend.”
Roberson returns at nickel: Junior cornerback Marcus Roberson saw his first game action since suffering a sprained PCL against Miami on Sept. 7. Roberson played exclusively at the nickel position while returning one punt for negative-1 yard. He had one pass breakup and committed a pass interference penalty in the second quarter that gave LSU a first down.
Follow Adam Pincus on Twitter @adamDpincus.
Marcus Roberson (5) tackles Tigers wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) during Florida’s 17-6 loss to LSU on Oct. 12 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
