Roberto Aguayo was somewhat transparent in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft, saying on more than one occasion that he was interested in joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Aguayo grew up about an hour north of Tampa and played football at IMG Academy in Bradenton, which is about 45 minutes in the other direction, and he grew up watching Buccaneer great Martin Gramatica.
"It was where I wanted to go," Aguayo said after being picked by the Bucs in the second round. "They had the pick at 74, so I was just waiting it out and all of a sudden the call came in and I saw the Tampa area code and I was pumped. When they said I was going to be a part of the family, I was excited. I know a kicker doesn't usually get taken this high, but I think my three years at Florida State on the field – I think it was the right pick and that's what I was hearing. It's just a surreal moment and I'm excited to be a Buccaneer and I'm ready to get working in Tampa."
Take a peek at photos of the newest Buccaneer.
But aside from growing up in southern Florida, Aguayo had another reason to want to be drafted by the Buccaneers: Jameis Winston. The two won a national championship together at Florida State and Winston has referred to Aguayo as the "best kicker he's ever seen." Winston took to Twitter following the Bucs' second-round selected and Tweeted just one word: "Bertooooo."
"Since Jameis went there I've been a Buccaneer fan," Aguayo said. "I mean pretty much all of my life and now that I get to join him, you never know, you can talk Super Bowl. It's going to be exciting. It's going to be fun. You know, a familiar face back in the locker room. It's just going to be exciting, good to be around him again and just have fun."
As far as the stats are concerned, Aguayo is the most accurate kicker in the history of college football. He converted on more than 95% of his kicks, including field goals and extra points, at Florida State and never missed an attempt inside the 40. For Winston, that means a drive inside the opponents' 30 will almost certainly result in at least three points. That should be more than enough reason for the second-year quarterback to smile.
