Kentucky's redshirt freshman kicker, Jacob Kauwe, remains automatic

If there’s one unit of the Kentucky football team that the Big Blue Nation can trust right now, it would be the special teams group, particularly redshirt freshman Jacob Kauwe.

Kauwe was lauded as a big-leg kicker coming out of high school. Video of him in 2023 drilling a 75-yarder during a practice setting went semi-viral. He carried that title over to his true freshman season at UK in 2024, nailing three from 60 yards in one summer practice. Kauwe wasn’t able to show off his power then (the kicker ahead of him, Alex Raynor, went 14-15 on field goals last season), but now serving as the Wildcats’ full-time starter, his leg is on full display.

Through four games this season, Kauwe is perfect on field goals (8-8) and extra point attempts (12-12). The Montana native isn’t just connecting on chip shots, either. He’s 3-3 on field goals from 30-39 yards, 2-2 on attempts from 40-49 yards, and 1-1 on anything beyond 50 yards. A 51-yarder a couple of weeks ago against Eastern Michigan marked his career high. His 36 points rank among the SEC’s top 10 scorers so far this season.

In Saturday’s loss to South Carolina, Kauwe knocked in field goals from 27 and 42 yards — the latter kick would have been good from 60-plus.

It feels strange now to look back to the offseason, when there was a real battle going on behind the scenes for the starting kicker spot. Kauwe had to beat out Sacramento State senior transfer Zach Schreiner to win the role. A lack of consistency was apparently what held Kauwe back during training camp, but that clearly hasn’t been an issue thus far.

Fans haven’t been able to consistently rely on Kentucky’s offense or defense in recent years, but the kicking unit has been a constant. Kauwe is just the latest example.

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