Texas Longhorns Kicker Named to Prestigious Watch List

Texas Longhorns football has plenty of new faces across the roster this season, with recruits and transfers getting set to make their Longhorn debut in the 2025 season.

One of these new faces is kicker Mason Shipley, a Texas State transfer, who was recently named to the Lou Groza Award watch list for the nation's top place-kicker.

Texas Athletics announced that Shipley was named to the watch list on Friday.

What Shipley Can Bring to Austin

Shipley transferred to Texas after spending three seasons at Texas State with the Bobcats. In his career, Shipley played in 38 games for Texas State, where he made 31 field goals. He only had one attempt his freshman year, but as a sophomore, went 15-15 with a long of 47 yards. As a junior, Shipley went 15-19, but showed off his range with a career-long 60-yard field goal, the longest field goal in Sun Belt Conference history.

With his final year of eligibility, Shipley decided to travel next door and join the Longhorns for his senior season. The former All-Sun Belt First Team selection comes in to replace former Longhorn kicker Bert Auburn, who transferred to Miami this offseason.

Auburn left Texas after struggling last season, going 16-25, including a few big misses such as a potential game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter against Arizona State in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

Auburn's struggles in 2024 came as a surprise after strong performances in 2023, when he made 29 field goals and set a single-season record for most field goals and points by a kicker at Texas.

Now Shipley joins Texas, hoping to be the go-to solution in close games, something Texas did not see much of last season. In 16 games played, the Longhorns had only two where the final score was decided by three points.

Now with a more difficult schedule set for the 2025 season, a dependable kicker will be essential for the Longhorns, who face teams such as the Ohio State Buckeyes, Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs.

Shipley will make his debut with the Longhorns on August 30, when Texas travels to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes in week one of the season. Shipley will not be the only Longhorn making his debut for the team, with some new and familiar faces taking their turn as full-time starters.