The Badgers special teams unit just got a lot stronger in the past couple of weeks. In addition to Collin Larsh returning for a final season, Wisconsin just landed a talented kicker from the transfer portal.
Vito Calvaruso, who will be a Junior this fall, played for two seasons at Arkansas for the Razorbacks. Calvaruso has a very strong kicking leg and has already asserted himself as one of the most dominant kickoff specialists in his first two years in college football.
How dominant is Vito Calvaruso at kickoffs? Well, as a true freshman, 68.8% of his kickoffs resulted in a touchback, which ranked him 14th in the nation. As a sophomore, he increased that number to 85%, which ranked 5th in the FBS and was also believed to be a school record at Arkansas. According to Pro Football Focus, Calvaruso was the best kickoff specialist in the country with a 93.4 grade.
Badger fans should be really excited about the addition of Calvaruso for the upcoming season. Current kickoff specialist Jack Van Dyke struggled to find consistency last year. Calvaruso should immediately clear up the kickoff issues for the Badgers. In addition, Calvaruso had stated that he wanted to transfer because he wanted to have the opportunity to be a placekicker as well. Although Collin Larsh is planning on returning to be the Badgers’ full-time placekicker, it’s safe to anticipate that Calvaruso will have multiple chances to show off his leg if the Badgers need a long field goal this upcoming season.
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