Logan Tyler to punt, share kicking duties with Ricky Aguayo
Instead of choosing between Ricky Aguayo and Logan Tyler, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said he will use both players this season.
Fisher told reporters Monday the team will use Aguayo for field goals while Tyler would punt and handle kickoff duties. Aguayo and Tyler, who are both true freshmen, were battling for the starting kicker's job throughout preseason camp.
"The young guys kicking -- we've put them under a lot of stress, a lot of pressure," Fisher said in his opening remarks. "Try to block everything humanly possible, coming at them and putting pressure on the snappers, kickers. ... Logan's doing a great job punting the football. He'll probably do that and kick off for us.
"Ricky will do field goals. I've been very pleased from what I've seen from those guys."
Fisher said Tyler, who turned heads with his powerful leg, could be used for longer field goal attempts. Although Tyler had the stronger leg, Aguayo was the more accurate kicker during camp.
Finding a way to use both should not come as too much of a surprise. Tyler was rated by Kohl's Professional Camps as the No. 2 kicker in the nation. Aguayo was third.
"[Tyler's] really going to continue to emerge and grow on kickoffs," Fisher said. "Ricky's a great kickoff guy too, but Logan is really strong."
Fisher said during preseason camp one of the things he liked about Tyler as a punter was that he's left-footed. He said a left-footed punter hits the ball with a different spin, which can be a challenge for punt returners who are not used to seeing the ball at a different angle.
Aguayo, as expected, will attempt to follow his older brother and former Seminoles placekicker, Roberto. The older Aguayo connected on 92.7 percent of his field goal attempts in his first two seasons and converted 80.8 percent as a junior. He also converted 198 extra-point attempts.
Tyler and his big leg will look to fill the opening left by Cason Beatty. The four-year starter enjoyed is best season in 2015 when he averaged 45.2 yards per attempt.
Fisher said Tyler's athleticism, along with his ability to kick and punt, reminds him of former Seminoles kicker Graham Gano.
"Last time [FSU had a player who could kick and punt] was Graham Gano. Graham did it for a whole season," Fisher said. "He did it really well. I think guys like that are really good athletes. ... Logan, he only kicked for one year.
"He was a quarterback, linebacker, fullback. I mean, he was a football player that just happened to have a good leg. They figured, 'If you did this, you'll have a future.'"
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