Aug 30, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko pregame against the UTSA Roadrunners at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Sean Thomas-Imagn Images Sean Thomas-Imagn Images

Why Texas A&M Named a New Starting Place Kicker Over Randy Bond

Originally posted on Texas A&M Aggies on SI
By Aaron Raley | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 2:00 PM ET

It took the No. 19 Texas A&M Aggies just about an entire half to truly get the gears turning all the way, as the run defense started the first part of the game a little more lax than head coach Mike Elko probably wanted to see, but once the production was rolling, especially on offense, it was smooth sailing for the Aggies, who took a 42-24 win over the UTSA Roadrunners Saturday night.

The offensive production, led by the two speedy transfer receivers KC Concepcion and Mario Craver, produced six touchdowns, including four passing touchdowns by Marcel Reed, and all six extra points following the scores went through the uprights.

However, in an interesting turn of offseason competition, they weren't being kicked by starting placekicker Randy Bond, though the Plano native did resume his kickoff duties, and instead saw former Georgia Bulldogs kicker Jared Zirkel taking the field for the points after.

Elko Says Zirkel Won the Placekicking Job by a 'Wide Margin'

Zirkel, who transferred to College Station from Athens after the 2023 season, seems to be showing his potential to Elko after taking a backseat to Bond in the 2024 season, and over the offseason camps, the Aggie coach took strong notice, and now Zirkel is getting his opportunity.

"Yeah, it was interesting," Elko said during his post-game press conference Saturday night. "It was just that, Jared had been phenomenal all the way through spring camp, all the way through fall camp, and he just won the job, we felt, by a wide margin on the job. If you're going to have competition in your program, you have to make it honest competition, and that's what it was, and Randy will be ready if we need him."

"Randy's a great kid and he's been really good for us, but Jared has been phenomenal through spring and through fall camp, and so we just decided to go that way."

In the 2024 season, Bond went made 20 of his 24 field goal attempts, which translates to 83.3 percent, his longest boot sailing 55 yards through the uprights, and didn't miss a single extra point last year, but did miss two kicks from the 40-49 yard distance, but was still an improvement from 2023 where he was only 4-10 from that distance.

Clearly, something clicked inside the coaches to make the change over the offseason.

The Aggies will be back at Kyle Field this Saturday at 11:45 A.M. when they host their fellow Aggies from Utah State.

This article first appeared on Texas A&M Aggies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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