Early Entry Review: Pineiro opened eyes during Florida's spring game
One of the biggest storylines throughout the spring was the addition of top-rated JUCO kicker Eddy Pineiro, viewed by many as the solution to Florida’s kicking woes from a season ago.
And under the lights during the Orange & Blue Debut on April 8 at the spring's conclusion, Pineiro shined with an impressive display. Attempting four of his five field-goal tries of 50 yards or farther, Pineiro went 3-of-5 with makes from 52, 46 and 56 yards out. He was perfect on his PATs and was solid on kickoff duty as well.
After Pineiro knocked down his first field goal of the night, a 52-yarder, the crowd in The Swamp got on its feet and erupted. Soon, chants of “Eddy, Eddy!” could be heard as Florida fans rejoiced at the fact that the team finally has an answer at the kicker position.
Overall, it was a memorable night for Pineiro, a former soccer standout - and a current social media sensation popular for his cannon of a leg - who is for the most part relatively new to football.
“First of all, I was really excited that he knew how to put his helmet on. That was pretty cool,” Florida head coach Jim McElwain quipped. “When he was able to get it buckled, that was a step in the right direction. But Eddy’s one of those guys who the team has really gotten behind. I was excited for the environment – that was a great environment on that Friday night and that spring practice. To be able to put him out there doing that, I think that’s really going to help us as we move forward.
“Just from a standpoint of being in uniform, being under the lights, having some people there, I didn’t see him flinch. There wasn’t a look like, ‘Oh, boy, this a little different,’ which was really good and comforting as a coach."
As Eddy Pineiro Sr. and former Gators kicker Judd Davis, a mentor of Pineiro’s, watched the spring game from the stands together that night, they both witnessed an experience that proved to be highly beneficial for the younger Pineiro.
"One of the best things for him was finally getting in front of that crowd, because I told him, 'You're never going to know how you're going to react until you get in front of people,'" Davis said. "There were close to 50,000 people at the spring game. Right out of the box, McElwain sends him out for a 52-yarder - and I was actually sitting with his dad in the stands. He went out there and just crushed it. That ball was good for something like 62, no problem. It went right through the uprights. It was a huge confidence builder."
Added Pineiro's father: "He trained really hard and put in a lot of hours. The main thing was could he kick under pressure, could he kick in front of a crowd with a live snap. I think he did really well. He felt really, really comfortable. ... It was a lot of fun, I was excited. He’s put in a lot of time into this, and everybody was waiting to see how he was going to do - even us. Could he hold up under pressure? He handled it pretty good."
With Austin Hardin leaving the team and walk-on kickers Jorge Powell and Neil MacInnes sidelined with knee injuries this spring, Pineiro saw a good number of opportunities in practices while captivating teammates with his accuracy and strong leg.
Davis, who attended a handful of UF’s spring practices and got to watch Pineiro in action, was pleased in particular with how Pineiro bounced back from his misses this spring during practices and in the O&B Debut.
"I've told him, the hardest kick is the one you hit after you miss. You're not going to make them all," Davis said. "I said, 'You're going to find out that the one after you miss is the tough one.' We talked after the game. He missed his third one and he said he went back in after that one it was like, 'Geez, I don't want to miss two in a row because that creeps into your head.' He drilled it, and he said he was proud of himself because he had realized what I had told him was true."
Two big focuses for Pineiro throughout the spring were getting his operation time down and handling pressure situations – or as how McElwain coins it, “trying to put him in situations that aren’t like controlled environments like on YouTube.”
"The main thing was just going through the usual snapping the ball, hold and kick, and getting his timing down," the elder Pineiro said. "That was really important to Coach Mac. Obviously, he didn’t want to let Coach Mac down. He's been very appreciative that he got a full scholarship to go to the University of Florida and he was really excited about it. The opportunity was huge, so he just wanted to make sure he did well."
Davis also saw Pineiro improve his overall tempo throughout spring practices - and that in turn helped out other aspects of his kicking.
"As spring went on, his form got better," Davis said. "The main thing Coach McElwain wanted was for him to get his timing down. That's something that he's learned in time - when you start that first step, knowing when the ball's in the air and you're going to plant when your holder is spinning that ball. It's just something that you've got to get used to. As spring went on, his get-off time got better and better and better. By the time he got to the spring game, he was getting them off quick and with a lot of height on the ball."
Pineiro was strong on kickoff duty during the spring game and showcased impressive hang time on many of his attempts, but heading into the 2016 season the Florida coaching staff is looking for Pineiro to continue to develop in that capacity. McElwain knows Pineiro could be a key weapon for Florida on kickoffs.
"Mac wants him to make sure he gets his kickoffs not out of the end zone but get them really high," explained Pineiro Sr. "That's what he's doing, is trying to get kickoffs into like the 2-yard line, 3-yard line with a 4.4-4.5 (second) hang time, which is something that's going to help the team tremendously."
Down the road, Davis wants to see how Pineiro handles facing a rush from the defense on his field goal tries in live-game scenarios - something the Miami native didn't experience in full intensity during the spring game. Another goal Davis wants Pineiro to achieve is mastering a smooth swing while properly measuring out how much power he should put into each of his kicks.
"He can kick it through a brick wall," explained Davis. "I said to him, 'What you've got to understand is that a 35-yarder is the same amount as a 55-yarder. It doesn't matter how far it goes. The key is you've got to improve where you can get that smooth swing. The day I was with him training this off-season he was blasting them and his ball swing starter to get a little lower, and I stopped him and I said, 'I want you to kick the next one at 80%.' He's like, 'OK.' His next swing is amazing, how much higher and straighter it went. I said to him, 'Remember, your 80% is everybody else's 120%.'"
If Pineiro can continue to blossom, he could certainly be a special talent for the Gators moving forward.
"He’s got a heck of a strong leg," McElwain said. "If we just keep refining the timing, I think we might have ourselves something there."
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