Florida’s kicking woes may soon be a thing of the past.
Eddy Pineiro — the nation’s No. 1 junior college kicker according to 247Sports — committed to the Gators on Tuesday night.
Pineiro had been committed to Alabama since June, but he’s taken multiple visits to Florida and he tweeted out a photo hanging out with coach Jim McElwain following the Gators’ loss to Florida State on Nov. 28. He decommitted from the Crimson Tide on Monday, which set up his pledge to the Gators.
UF has struggled this season on field goals as Austin Hardin has made just 5-of-14 field goals and had three of those kicks blocked.
“We’ll get a kicker. That’s our responsibility and we’ll get one. And we’ll get a good one,” McElwain said after the loss to the Seminoles.
Pineiro might be the answer McElwain was alluding to, and he has garnered a lot of attention around the country for posting videos on his twitter account — @eddypineiro1 — of him kicking field goals as long as 77-yards.
Wednesday is the first day junior college players can sign their national letter of intent, and Pineiro will be competing for the starting kicking position for the 2016 season.
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
