Why Are Colts Opting For Kicking Youth?

INDIANAPOLIS – Clearly, the Colts have a type when it comes to looking for a new permanent kicker.

In moving on from Matt Gay, who was flawless inside of 50 yards, while super inconsistent north of 50 yards, the Colts were sending a message.

The staff was, indirectly, saying what they thought of Spencer Shrader.

An undrafted free agent by the Colts in 2024, Shrader made all 5 of his field goal attempts in spot duty for 3 different NFL teams last season. He has yet to attempt an NFL kick from longer than 50 yards.

So what does all this say about what the Colts are looking for in a kicker?

“Certainly the most important thing is you need to be consistent, right?” third-year special teams coordinator Brian Mason says. “Because we want people that are going to make field goals. But as you’re trying to project like who can we get that can be consistent and be a really solid NFL starting place kicker. We’re looking for somebody that No. 1 is going to have a really special leg or leg talent, so leg strength.

“What’s their trajectory they’re getting on their kicks? What’s their ability to make 50-plus-yard field goals? Okay, step one they check the box of having that kind of leg strength or leg talent to be a really quality NFL starting kicker. The next step is, do they have the mental makeup to be able to handle the pressure of being an NFL starting kicker? Do they have the mental makeup and ability to focus and prepare both on and off the field that’s going to allow them to be able to have consistent mechanics, a consistent routine on a daily basis, to be able to then be successful. So a lot of that we can see in dealing with them in the pre-draft process, and then being able to interview and work with them to try and figure out beyond just the talent level, try to figure out as best you can the mental makeup and how they’re going to be able to handle some of those things.”

Mason actually came to the Colts with some prior history with Shrader.

When Mason was the special teams coordinator at Notre Dame, he had recruited the college kicker in the transfer portal after initially kicking at South Florida.

So when the end of the 2024 Draft occurred, it was Mason recruiting Shrader as an undrafted free agent.

And Mason was wearing that hat again this past offseason in explaining why Shrader should return to the Colts, with quite the opportunity now awaiting.

“You could see on film at South Florida that this is somebody that’s really talented,” Mason explains. “When you talk to him, you could see ‘Okay, this guy is – he’s different.’ He’s not your typical specialist, right? He is. His background was he was a really good soccer player. He was an athlete. You can kind of tell from talking to him. He’s got his own small business. He’s got other things that are going on. He’s really sharp, highly motivated. Was really well put together. So a lot of things off the field were like okay, this is somebody that really has his things together.’ He’s wired the right way with good mental makeup. He was talented.

“They had some operational issues and stuff at South Florida that you could kind of look over – maybe some of his misses and things. Like okay, we could continue to develop to find a way to make him more consistent. And just seeing how well he was wired off the field, you knew he had a chance to be able to tap more into that talent.”

Part of the reason why the Colts released Gay before the start of the offseason program is because they wanted Shrader to get the vast majority of the spring reps in with incumbent holder Rigoberto Sanchez and long snapper Luke Rhodes.

“Really excited to have him back, think he’s really talented, certainly has a lot of upside,” Mason says of Shrader. “We want to continue to develop that upside. He certainly has a small sample size for what he’s been able to do in the NFL, but think he has the ability to be a really solid starter if he continues to develop to his potential. He did a really nice job being able to start for three different teams last year, which is not easy to do, and handled that pressure really well. And think he’s done a really good job so far one year in the NFL, on and off the field…We think he’s got a lot of upside. He’s got a lot of potential, and could be really successful in the NFL”

Shrader made just 68 percent of his kicks in college, a similar number to who he is competing with in ’25.

Undrafted free agent Maddux Trujillo made 72 percent of kicks last year at Temple, but set college records with two makes from longer than 50 yards.

Mason sees a similar profile in Trujillo to Shrader, as the two will battle in training camp for the place kicking job.

“A lot of guys, like even Harrison Butker was a less than 80 percent kicker in college that are able to – if they have that talent and right mental makeup – take that next step,” Mason explains further. “In the NFL, we are kicking a K-ball, which is a bigger ball. That’s exactly what the kicker wants. The hashes are closer together, you’re going to have a better operation.

“So, if you can find those guys that are wired the right way that have a lot of talent, they can really take the next step at the NFL. We’re excited to have two young guys that we think can do that.”