Freshman kicker Nathanial Vakos has had a busy past two weeks.
After nailing three of four field goal attempts in Ohio's win over Wyoming in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl - including a 46-yarder to send the game to overtime - Vakos elected to enter the transfer portal three days later in hopes of playing at the highest level of college football.
Converting 22-of-27 of his field goal attempts in 2022, the freshman kicker was in high demand. Upon entering the portal on Jan. 2nd, Vakos heard from a number of schools, a last that included Cincinnati, Purdue, Memphis, Mississippi State, Boston College and Wisconsin, among others.
"I had a pretty good season at Ohio," Vakos told BadgerBlitz.com. "I loved Ohio but I just wanted to play bigger football."
Having been offered by Cincinnati out of high school, Vakos had a familiarity with the school, as well as the current staff at Wisconsin. With that, he narrowed his decision down to the Badgers and Bearcats.
"I was looking to go somewhere I already knew where I’d fit, and I had an offer to Cincinnati coming out of high school, so I knew Coach (Luke) Fickell and their coaching staff pretty well," Vakos said. "So I kind of looked at that and then I spoke to the coaching staff and got to campus and loved it, so that’s why I chose Wisconsin."
Vakos was first contacted by director of player personnel Max Stienecker, who also led his visit to Madison the weekend of Jan. 6.
On his trip, the Ohio native was hosted by tight end Cam Large and linebacker Ross Gengler. He also met with Fickell and special teams coordinator Colin Hitschler. They went to dinner and he got to know the coach "pretty well."
Breaking down his 2022 season, the 6-foot-1 freshman went 17-for-18 on attempts inside of 40 yards and finished 5-for-9 on kicks from 40 yards out or more. In the bowl game against Wyoming, he was good from 43, 45 and 46 yards. Vakos' career long is from 56 yards out.
"I’ve hit further than that before, so I guess my range can be anywhere from 60 (yards) if we’re speaking with some wind at your back at stuff," Vakos said. "I mean, for me I don’t really treat it any differently than any other kick. Our last bowl game, I had three field goals in that game from past 40 yards, so you just got to think of it mentally as the same as a 30-yard kick and just can’t get mentally blocked by the distance and try and mess up your form just to hit the ball harder."
Redshirt freshman Nate Van Zelst churned out a solid season for Wisconsin this past year, hitting 11-of-14 attempts, including a perfect 3-for-3 between 40 and 49 yards. Van Zelst was a perfect 35-for-35 on extra point attempts as well. Vito Calvaruso, who transferred over from Arkansas last winter, suffered a leg injury before fall camp and went on to miss all but the first two weeks of the season.
With Vakos' resume through one year of collegiate experience, the staff made it clear the plans they have for him.
"Their plan for me is I would come in as the starter and it’d be my spot to lose, basically," he said. "I’d basically come in and my goal is to be same I did last year for Ohio and make a difference for a team and help them win some games."
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