FSU Football Veteran Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald Returning for 2024 Season

Originally posted on FanNation NoleGameDay
By Tommy Mire | Last updated 1/5/24

The Florida State Seminoles are coming off of a remarkable 13-1 season in which they became ACC Champions for the first time since 2014. While many players on last year's squad have either graduated or decided to enter the 2024 NFL Draft, multiple starters have decided to stick around for another year in Tallahassee.

Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald announced on Friday via Instagram that he will return to Florida State in 2024 for his sixth year of eligibility.

As a sixth-year senior and part of the 2019 class, Fitzgerald entered the program as a five-star prospect ranked by Kohl's Kicking. He redshirted his first year while sitting behind Ricky Aguayo.

In 2023, he saw one of his most productive seasons, accounting for 115 points with a long of 48 yards. He played in all 13 games and had a perfect 100 percent point-after-attempt record while making 90.5 percent of his field goal attempts, only missing two of the 21 tries. His 90.5 field goal percentage is a vast improvement from a season ago, when he went 12-20.

As he enters his final season, Fitzgerald recently signed a deal with one of Florida State's NIL Collectives, The Battle's End.

The Lou-Groza Award Semifinalist has played in 44 games for the 'Noles, scoring a career total of 299 points, 164 on point-after-attempts, and the remaining 45 on field goals.

A veteran presence in the kicking room will be crucial in developing incoming freshman kicker Jake Weinberg, as backup kickers Tyler Keltner (Oklahoma) and Max Larson (FAMU) have transferred out of the program.