George Kittle on the transition to a rookie kicker
George Kittle offers insight into the transition from Robbie Gould to Jake Moody.
Robbie Gould was gold for the San Francisco 49ers for a long stretch of time.
But following the 2023 NFL Draft, one in which the Niners selected Michigan kicker Jake Moody in the third round, San Francisco is shifting in a different direction in the kicking game. Recently tight end George Kittle went on ESPN Chicago's Waddle & Silvy show to explain the nuance of the transition from savvy veteran to unknown rookie.
"I know the kid we drafted in the third round, he's going to be a good kicker," Kittle shared. "He's made some big kicks in college, so I'm looking forward to that. But it is a little bit different. You're just thinking about it maybe a little bit more because it used to be, 'Hey, Robbie's out there. Three points guaranteed.' And even if Robbie did miss, I was like, 'He'll make the next five. I don't really care. It is what it is.' Never really had to worry about it… So I'm going to stick with that type of confidence in my new kicker, and we'll see what happens. He is a good kicker. The Michigan side of him, I'm going to have to get used to that. Those Michigan guys, they're all so cocky. We drafted like three of them. It is what it is. I'm just glad that we kept it within the Big Ten."
During Moody's career, he hit upwards of 88 percent of his kicks. He was one of the most accurate college kickers. And it was reported after the draft that several teams were reaching for the kicker by the time the Niners made a move to bring him in.
It isn't a shoo-in that Moody will be the kicker of the future. But after spending a draft pick on him, the Niners are clearly willing to invest in a position that is often an afterthought.
Still, goodbyes are hard. And Kittle is still thinking about how Gould was critical to the Niners' success, especially in the postseason.
"Robbie, I mean, hey, everything that you did for us, everything you did for all the players in this locker room, whether you were sitting on the sidelines, sitting in a lawn chair watching me practice, whether you're kicking field goals for game winners, we love you. The whole 49ers fan base loves you."
