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Conrad Ukropina scouting profile: Quarterback turned kicker

If the Bengals wait until the final round of the NFL Draft or undrafted free agency to find a new kicker, Conrad Ukropina could be a prospect to watch for.

Notre Dame v Stanford Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

A dual threat at punter and kicker, Conrad Ukropina was a fifth year senior in 2016 at Stanford and won a slew of awards and recognitions in his final year of NCAA eligibility. He was the John Folmer Most Valuable Special Teams Player (Sun Bowl), received All-Pac-12 honorable mention, Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention, Phil Steele All-Pac-12 preseason second team, Athlon All-Pac-12 preseason third team and was a Burlsworth Trophy candidate.

Football » Ukropina Game-Winning FG

CONRAD. UKROPINA. STANFORD WINS. #GoStanford

Posted by Stanford Athletics on Saturday, November 28, 2015

Conrad Ukropina

College: Stanford

Position: Kicker/Punter

Height: 6’0"

Weight: 190 lbs

Arm length: 31 3/8"

Hands: 9 1/8"

Class: Fifth year senior

Projected Round: 7 or undrafted

Conrad Ukropina College Stats

Total FGM FGA FG% FGM 0 ~ 40 FGA 0 ~ 40 FG% 0 ~ 40 FGM 40+ FGA 40+ FG% 40+ XPM XPA XP%
Total FGM FGA FG% FGM 0 ~ 40 FGA 0 ~ 40 FG% 0 ~ 40 FGM 40+ FGA 40+ FG% 40+ XPM XPA XP%
2013 2 4 50.00% 2 3 66.70% 0 1 0.00% 11 12 91.70%
2014 0 0 0.00% 0 0 0.00% 0 0 0.00% 1 1 100.00%
2015 18 20 90.00% 12 13 92.30% 6 7 85.70% 67 67 100.00%
2016 22 27 81.50% 12 13 92.30% 10 14 71.40% 34 34 100.00%
Total 42 51 82.40% 26 29 89.70% 16 22 72.70% 113 114 99.10%

Important Notes:

  • Former walk-on for Stanford who didn’t become the team’s starting kicker until his junior season.
  • Was a punter and kicker in high school, and technically at Stanford, too, though, he was primarily a kicker.
  • High school quarterback who broke his arm and then switched positions to become a kicker/punter.

Scouting Report Consensus - What to like:

  • Has only missed one extra point attempt in his entire college career, and that was in his sophomore season (2013).
  • Good accuracy inside of 40 yards (92.3%) in his two seasons as a starter.
  • Stanford record holder for career consecutive made extra points (108).
  • School record holder for best field goal percentage (.824).
  • Third in Stanford history for career extra point percentage (.991) and sixth in Stanford history with 113 career made extra points.

Scouting Report Consensus - What to not like:

  • He was not used much beyond 50 yards, with a career long of 52 yards on only three attempts.

Conclusion:

Ukropina has made pretty much every kick inside of 40 yards over the past two seasons (98.4%) which actually slightly edges Zane Gonzalez (97.6%) over that span. The knock on him will be his limited ability to attempt and make long field goals. Interestingly, Ukropina’s 98.4% rate from inside of 40 is pretty close to Robert Aguayo’s 100% mark inside of 40 during college. And he has the same limited distance numbers that afflicted Aguayo, who was still drafted in the second round last year. It’s doubtful Ukropina will be drafted anywhere near the second round, but just looking at a numbers comparison, Ukropina’s past two seasons practically mirror Aguayo’s career.

With only two seasons of kicking under his belt, Ukropina is a player who a team could take a chance on as a practice squad project who could possibly be groomed into their kicker of the future. His short accuracy has been great, and it would just be a matter of finding a team willing to see if distance kicking could be added to his game.