Dragan Kesich
Minnesota Golden Gophers – No. 99
PositionPlacekicker
ClassSenior
Personal information
Born:Oak Creek, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career history
CollegeMinnesota (2020–present)
Bowl games
High schoolOak Creek (Oak Creek, Wisconsin)
Career highlights and awards

Dragan Kesich is a Serbian-American football kicker for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Early life and high school

Kesich was born and raised in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and attended Oak Creek High School. In his high school career, he finished with 96% of his kickoffs which resulted in a touchback.[1] He earned all-conference and all-region honors in 2018 and 2019 and was also a finalist for the Wisconsin Sports Awards Kicker of the Year Award in 2019. He was rated a five-star recruit and committed to play college football at the University of Minnesota as a walk-on.[2]

College career

During Kesich's true freshman season in 2020, he played in five games and finished the season with kicking off 24 times and recording 10 touchbacks for 1,501 yards with an average of 62.5 yards per game.[3]

During the 2021 season, he played in 12 games while serving as the team's kickoff specialist. He finished the season with recording 42 touchbacks on 66 kickoffs for 4,197 yards, with an average of 63.6% yards per games.[4]

During the 2022 season, he played in all 13 games and finished the season with kicking off 71 times for 4,586 yards, tying for the first in the nation with an average of 64.6 yards per game. He also recorded 59 touchbacks ranking third in the nation with an 83.1% touchback success rate.[5]

During the 2023 season, he played in 12 games and kicked off 56 times for 3,622 yards and recorded 47 touchbacks for an average of 64.7 yards per game.[6][7] He was named on the first-team All-Big and the Bakken-Anderson Big Ten Kicker of the Year.[8][9]

Personal life

Kesich is a relative of NHL hockey player, Milan Lucic.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Dragan Kesich's High School Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Dragan Kesich, Oak Creek, Kicker". 247Sports.com. July 1, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Dragan Kesich". Minnesota Golden Gophers.
  4. ↑ "Dragan Kesich 2021 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Dragan Kesich 2022 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Dragan Kesich 2023 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Randy (September 8, 2023). "With big leg and personality to match, Gophers kicker Dragan Kesich embraces pressure". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Gophers' Nubin, Kesich named 1st Team All-Big Ten, 5 others honorable mentions". KSTP-TV. November 28, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Gophers' Kesich named Big Ten Kicker of the Year". KSTP-TV. November 28, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
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