K Austin MacGinnis plans to boot LA Rams to victory

Former XFL-UK K Austin MacGinnis plans to boot the LA Rams to wins this year

He is a former XFL, AAF, and the University of Kentucky kicker and placekicker.  He is Austin MacGinnis, and he is one of three kickers on the LA Rams roster competing for a starting kicker role on the team. Yes, he already knows the odds. He has a 33.3 percent chance of winning the LA Rams kicking job for the foreseeable future.  He knows that the odds of an NFL kicker earning a starting role get better the more accurate he can kick the ball.  He knows that accuracy declines with distance. Finally, he knows that the litmus test for the LA Rams is about accuracy beyond 40 yards.

Kicker Greg Zuerlein, also known as Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein, was a paltry 10 out of 18 at a distance of 40+ yards for the LA Rams in 2019.  That was only good enough for 55.6 percent, and that was costly. So costly, the LA Rams may have missed the playoffs if he had made 14 of those 18. In the NFL, kickers make those kicks.

No backing down

So when the LA Rams contacted former XFL Dallas Renegades kicker Austin MacGinnis, he knew exactly what he was signing up for.  MacGinnis always takes on the challenge and never backs down. Kickers are hard-wired that way. And that is why a 20179 graduate from the University of Kentucky did not surrender his dream of playing football.

After all, he had plenty of leg-power when he played for Kentucky:

He didn’t find an NFL team but did find an opportunity with the Alliance of American Football, where he knocked down 9 out of 11 kicks (82 percent), and all four kicks over forty yards.

Big kicks from a little guy

In terms of NFL kickers, size matters very little.  So Austin MacGinnis is not penalized for standing 5-foot-10 and weighing 175 pounds. The only statistic that matters is whether he can make the kicks that count. While every kick is very important, the LA Rams, and specifically special teams coordinator John Bonamego, wants production from the 40+ yards range.

Per FoxSports statistics, MacGinnis attempt 14 such kicks in 2017 and made nice, good for just 64.3 percent.  MacGinnis has matured and likely improved his power since 2017.  Will it be enough to win him the job for the Rams?  Right now Austin MacGinnis knows that this may very likely be his one and only opportunity to kick for an NFL team.  Can he convert this opportunity into an NFL career?   It’s up and it’s on its way…