This hot UFL star gave the LA Rams 2 huge reasons to sign him this offseason

If you believe that the LA Rams need to select the best college kicker in the 2024 NFL Draft, an alternative option is growing rapidly among Rams fans, and word has certainly reached the team's front office by now. After all, kicking 60+ yard field goals is a solid highlight to add to any kicker prospect's resume. The fun part of all of this is, is the fact that the guy who is making sports headlines nationwide never kicked a field goal in a college game.

He simply could not beat out kicker Cam Little for the field goal kicker role.

And yet, the front office is famous for finding NFL starters and stars in the most unlikely places. Would the team be willing to sign UFL kicking sensation Jake Bates?

I don't see why not. After all the team signed CFL kicking star Lirim Hajrullahu to the roster to compete for the kicker role. He was joined by XFL kicking star Austin MacGinnis. While neither kicker would win the starting role, they proved that the Rams are open to signing players from other football leagues to kick for the team.

So why would the Rams go to the trouble of signing a UFL player who did not kick a field goal in a single college game? Well, because not one of the kickers from college have done this:

If you noticed, former Rams kicker Brett Maher appeared on short list of kickers who made consecutive 60+ yards field goals in back-to-back weeks. Clearly, the Rams acknowledge and value kickers who can do that.

The Michigan Panthers play 10 games, with their season ending after their final preseason game on June 1, 2024. Unless they earn a berth to play in the post-season, the Rams could sign a well-trained powerhouse kicker like Jake Bates to the roster after that, with plenty of time to compete for the starting roster spot before the 2024 NFL season gets underway.

So what can we tell you about a kicker prospect with no collegiate field goal statistics? Well, let's tune in to catch Michigan Panthers' kicker Jake Bates' interview with ESPN's Pat McAfee:

In the end, Jake Bates has been a kicker all along. But he was second string on the depth chart at the University of Arkansas. He has a strong soccer background. He has been adamantly perfecting his craft since high school. And right now, he is the latest and greatest name buzzing about in football circles.

Oh, and one more thing. Detroit Lions fans love the guy.

Bates stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 202 pounds. But right now, his shadows extends beyond the UFL and across the NFL careers of several kickers. That is what happens when football-starved football fans learn about a guy who can routinely kick 60+ yards field goals without working up a sweat.

Ultimately, I suspect that 'Bates the Great,' will sign with an NFL team this year. Can he earn his way onto an NFL roster? From Jake Bates' perspective, it won't really matter. As long as any NFL dalliance does not derail his play in the UFL, he benefits from getting paid to keep working out his leg. For the NFL team that gives him a trial, they get a guy who is fresh out of making long kicks.

This will be a story worth monitoring. Stay tuned. And as always, thank you for reading.