College football preview: Avon's Nathanial Vakos seeks bounce-back year at Wisconsin

Nathanial Vakos and Wisconsin are both hoping for a rebound. The senior kicker and former Avon standout was named to the 2025 Lou Groza Award preseason watch list and looks to once again give the Badgers a reliable option in the kicking game. But more than that, he hopes to help get Wisconsin back to the postseason after missing a bowl for the first time since 2001. "This team is super hungry," Vakos said. "We're all disappointed. Last year is something we never wanted to happen. We didn't want to be the team that ruined the 23-year bowl streak. That put a chip on everybody's shoulder." Vakos began his career with Ohio University in 2022 where he played immediately as a freshman. He converted 19 of 23 field goals and 48 of 49 extra points. Two of Vakos' biggest moments came against Western Michigan on Oct. 15, making four field goals in the 33-14 win. One was a career-long 55-yard bomb. The other was his first miss on the season from 33 yards, but Vakos immediately had the chance to rectify it as fate would have it, giving him an identical 33-yard attempt on Ohio's next drive. He finished with 104 total points and earning third team freshman All-American honors from College Football News, second team All-Mid-American Conference honors and twice being named MAC Special Teams Player of the Week, including his collegiate debut. "Playing at Ohio was great for me," Vakos said. "It set me up to come here for my next year. I did well as a sophomore, but I think there was too much thinking in my third year because you have the ability to go to the league if you want to. I think that's what set me off and sent me backwards. I've learned a lot and matured on the field compared to my first two years." The success led him to Wisconsin, and for the past two seasons he's established himself as one of the most consistent kickers in the Big Ten, having made all 65 extra point attempts since joining Wisconsin. In high school, he made all but one of his extra points, including 260 in a row. He's played in all 25 games since joining the program, completing 15 of 19 field goals as a sophomore — including 14 of 15 field goals inside 50 yards — and became the first Wisconsin player to start 8-for-8 on the season since Wisconsin kicker Matt Davenport made his first nine attempts in 1998. Last season, he went 12-of-19 on field goal attempts and made three kicks of 50 yards or more, becoming the Badgers all-time leaders in field goal makes of at least 50 yards with four. "I came off of kind of a rough year compared to my last two years," Vakos said. "This offseason has been a bit of a grind. Just working on myself mentally, kicking a lot of field goals. I went down to Florida to train. I've been competing with our other kicker (Gavin Lahm), we've been pushing each other really hard. The biggest thing for me is more mental than anything, just getting my mind right." MOVIN' ON UP A trio of redshirt freshmen are moving up on their respective Big Ten depth charts. Luke Hamilton (Avon) was listed as the No. 3 left guard at Michigan while brothers Deontae and Devontae Armstrong (St. Edward/Elyria residents) are No. 3 at right tackle and left guard, respectively, for Ohio State. DEFENSIVE FORCE Wyatt Gedeon (St. Edward/Avon Lake resident) has been a fixture at linebacker for Coastal Carolina since joining the team in 2023. The junior has played in 21 games with 64 career tackles, 4.5 for a loss, 2.5 sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and two passes defended. NEW HOMES Two former Keystone standouts will suit up for new teams this year. Redshirt junior Gideon Lampron transferred to Bowling Green after a standout three seasons with Dayton where he landed on two All-America teams last season. Redshirt sophomore Ryne Shackelford transferred to Baylor after spending his first two season with Purdue. He did not register an appearance with the Boilermakers. LIGHTS, CAMERA, MACTION Lampron won't be the only one from Lorain County in the MAC. His teammate Alex Padgett (Avon Lake) figures to once again be an anchor on Bowling Green's offensive line. He's started every game at center the past two seasons and appeared in all 13 games during the 2022 season, predominately on special teams. Owen Wiley (Avon Lake) will compete to be Akron's starting kicker. The redshirt sophomore appeared in four games last season before utilizing his redshirt. In his freshman season (2023), he completed all 12 of his point after tries and 4 of 6 field goals. Austin Mitchell (Avon) made five appearances on the defensive line for Ohio University last season, registering three total tackles and a half sack. Nolan Good and Matt Maxey were a dynamic quarterback-wide receiver duo at Avon, now they take their talents to Kent State as the freshmen look to move up the depth chart and connect for more touchdowns at the collegiate level. For additions to the college notebook, please contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.