Kickers are such a strange position in college football. It is either the most important or least important position on the field. During a tough fought a 3-point margin can be the the difference between winning a big upset and having your opponent “survive a scare”. So having a talented is very valuable indeed.
Despite the importance of the position most college football teams struggle to find consistency at the kicker position. If you look at the “most talented conference in college football”, SEC average 80% on Field Goal percentage and 95% on extra point percentage for kicks. So even teams with the ability to recruit the best talent seem to struggle to find the best kickers.
When it comes to Georgia Tech has been blessed as of late. Gavin Stewart had a fantastic 2022 performance, and when Gavin struggled to start 2023 Aidan Birr came to take over. Aidan Birr ended the season only missing 2 of his 19 field goal attempts. It seems fair to say that the offense has benefitted from the confidence boost of knowing that they can get 3 points from a fair distance on the field.
As with Gavin Stewart, kickers can face struggles from season to season. That said, what we saw from Birr in the spring game seems to give credence to the idea that he will be just as good this year as last year.
Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of other photos or videos of Birr to add to this article, but I think the one above speaks for itself. If Georgia Tech expects to keep winning close games this year then Birr will need to keep delivering clutch kicks. Expect Birr to have a big impact on the season.