Miami Kicker Makes 2nd Team ESPN All-American Team

The ESPN preseason All-American team includes one Miami Hurricane .

For the second team unit, kicker Andres Borregales makes it. It is well deserved and do not be surprised if he is on the postseason first team. Borregales' 2023 statistics include connecting on 22 of 26 field goals, good for 84.6%; 44 of 45 extra points made as well.

In terms of Miami head coach Mario Cristobal relying on Borregales, consider the fact that he's coming off a season with eight different games in which he made at least two field goals. Further, Borregales can boast that he made three field goals against Miami (Ohio) and Virginia.

Having a great place kicker also changes the strategy of a single drive or an entire game. Cristobal and his coaching staff can plan their strategy a little bit differently than if there's no quality option.

Imagine there are two minutes on the clock, quarterback Cam Ward takes the field with his offensive teammates, and the Hurricanes are down three points at Louisville on Oct. 19. Because of Borregales and his proven track record, fewer chances on throws down the field need to be taken that could otherwise be picked off against a coverage.

He is also a quality kickoff artist going by the 2023 numbers, as 46 of his 73 attempts would be touchbacks. That's 63% of the time that opposing teams do not get a shot to even return a kick, let alone have one of their speedy playmakers break a long kickoff.

Congratulations to Borregales and good luck to him during the 2024 Miami football season.