SEC Football Top 150 Players: No. 73, Caleb Sturgis, Florida K
The SEC Blog will be counting down the top 150 players in the SEC every day, concluding on Aug. 30, at the start of the college football regular season.
73. Caleb Sturgis, No. 19, Florida Placekicker
2011 stats: 22-of-26 field goals, long of 55, 31-of-31 on extra point attempts, averaged 66.4 yards per kickoff (58 attempts), 10 touchbacks
Strengths
Sturgis was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award last season, which is given to the nation's top placekicker. He has established himself as one of the most reliable placekickers in the country during his first three seasons in Gainesville. On an offense that had issues scoring points, Sturgis was one of the few bright spots and kept Florida in games when the offense struggled.
Weaknesses
The most glaring issue facing every kicker this season is the change in kickoff rules, which could drastically change the strategy that kickers employ. Ideally, Sturgis won't make much of an impact at all, because Brent Pease was brought in to fix an offense that has been broken for the last two seasons.
2012 Prediction
Pease's offense won't click right away, so having Sturgis there as an insurance policy is a big advantage for the Gators. Kickers take a lot of heat, but having a reliable weapon like Sturgis can prevent games from getting away from you.
