National Football League

49ers place Super Bowl hopes on leg of rookie kicker Jake Moody

Published May. 3, 2023 2:33 p.m. ET

Kicking coach Brandon Kornblue has worked with Michigan native Jake Moody since he attended a kicking camp as a middle schooler growing up in the Midwest.

"We do camps all around the country, and anytime we'd be in Michigan or Ohio he would come to those camps," said Kornblue, who trained Moody down in South Florida in preparation for the draft. "I live in Naples, Florida, so he would come down here a couple times to get more personalized work in throughout the offseason."

Like Moody, Kornblue is a Michigan product who was part of the Wolverines' 1997 National Championship team that included Charles Woodson, Brian Griese and Tom Brady.

Because of his long relationship watching the 6-foot-1, 205-pound kicker compete in high school and college, Kornblue wasn't surprised to see Moody selected in the third round of this year's draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

However, it's understandable the rest of the NFL has doubts. A third-round choice seems high to take an asset like a kicker when quality kickers can be had on Day 3 or even as undrafted rookies.

The last time a kicker was drafted this high was Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the 2016 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he washed out of the league after a disastrous rookie season. The 49ers are obviously hoping for better results with Moody.

"I believe he's the most NFL-ready kicker that I've ever worked with," Kornblue said. "He's not the strongest kicker that I ever have worked with. There are some other guys that are as consistent. But the combination of all of it — just having the mentality that's ready for that next level, I think he's as ready as anyone can possibly be. And he's proved that in games at the highest level with the biggest crowds.

"I think if it wasn't for what happened with Aguayo a few years ago, he could have been drafted higher. And sometimes guys get drafted too high, or too low. But there's no doubt in my mind he is deserving of that high of a draft pick, if not higher."

Kornblue points to Moody's performance against Michigan's in-state rival Michigan State two years ago as an example of the kicker's steely nerves. In a top-10 matchup between undefeated, Big Ten rivals, Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker tried to ice Moody at the end of the first half, using all three of his timeouts on Michigan's 35-yard field goal attempt.

However, Moody drilled all four attempts and Michigan went into halftime up 23-14. For the game, Moody finished 4 of 4 on field goals and made all three extra points, but the Wolverines lost the road contest 37-33 on October 30, 2021.

"That's a perfect example because that Michigan-Michigan State rivalry is so intense," Kornblue said. "People know the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. But that rivalry is just as intense, if not more so. And he's an in-state kid. His mom and his sister both went to Michigan State. So, in a pressure game in Lancing with very cold, difficult weather to kick in a game they really had pressure to win, not only did he make those four in row, but he drilled them right down the middle, same height and same rotation with each ball.

"To me, that was a big moment that showed that he's just not rattled by pressure. If there's anybody that's built for those type of moments, it's him. He has that steady demeanor, confidence and presence."

San Francisco moved on from veteran kicker Robbie Gould this offseason. The 40-year-old never missed a kick in the postseason but was deemed too expensive by the 49ers.

Instead, the 49er chose a younger, inexpensive option by selecting Moody in the third round. Nicknamed "Money" Moody, the strong-legged, 23-year-old will have to be properly groomed by experienced San Francisco special teams coordinator Brian Schneider to deal with the high-leverage NFL situations for a team built for the Super Bowl.

"It is obviously a great team that I'm joining, I couldn't be happier," Moody said after the draft. "Anything that I can do to help the team win a Super Bowl, that's obviously the goal."

The 49ers believe Moody is up to the task. Schneider held a private workout for Moody before the draft in anticipation of taking him. Moody will compete with Zane Gonzalez for the job, whom the 49ers received in a trade of conditional, late-round selections from the 2025 draft with the Carolina Panthers. But by virtue of the third-round selection San Francisco used, Moody will be the leader in the clubhouse going into training camp.

Moody won the Lou Groza Award as the top kicker in the nation after the 2021 season, in which he finished 23 of 25 (92 percent) on field goals with a long of 52 yards. He followed that up by going 29 of 35 (82.9 percent) on field goals his final season at Michigan, including a career-high 59-yarder in the college championship semifinal loss to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.

Moody finished 65 of 74 (87.8 percent) from inside the 50-yard line during his time at Michigan and made a perfect 148 of 148 extra points in the process. He also finished with a 65 percent touchback percentage on kickoffs with good hang time, so Moody can handle those duties for San Francisco as well.

At the East-West Shrine Bowl, Moody finished a perfect four-of-four on field goals — including two from 51 yards — earning MVP of the college all-star game.

"When you put this much work into making your roster as competitive as we have, you're going to be in a lot of close games and kickers matter," San Francisco general manager John Lynch said. "We knew that we'd be looking this year and our special teams coaches really got out and about and really studied this thing hard. We put a lot of thought into it.

"When we felt like there was one who separated themselves from the rest, we became very convicted, and we were fortunate to have three third-round picks. We felt like he was worthy of one and we are happy to have done it."

"I still can't believe we didn't take a running back," joked 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. "But it was a necessary need. And if you're going to do it, you better do it with the right one. We felt like we got the best kicker in the draft. I can't say that I study kickers every year, but the people who do felt very good about it."

Moody is in line to replace one of the most consistent kickers in the NFL in Gould. The Penn State product is perfect 29 of 29 in the postseason, tops in league history. In six seasons with San Francisco, Gould converted 161 of 184 field goals (87.5 percent) with a long of 53 yards. Gould currently ranks No. 8 in league history with an 86.5 percent conversion rate on field goals.

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Moody and Gould share the same agent in Brian Mackler. The two met for dinner at the NFL Scouting Combine, and Gould reached out to congratulate Moody after San Francisco selected him.

A multi-sport athlete in high school and an avid golfer, Moody kicked in cold, Midwest weather, which should serve him well in the cold climates during the postseason.

"He's kind of got all the intangibles you are looking for," Kornblue said. "If you were going to put together a prototypical kicker, he's kind of been it. In all of Michigan history he's set pretty much every record that there is.

"He's just all of it put together. The consistency of his technique and swing. The strength that he does have. The mentality he has. The ability of kicking in the Midwest and having no issue with the weather. So many NFL teams, especially if they are making a run, have to play some late-season games in cold weather. And for him, he's used to that."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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