Fineran may be answer to Purdue's kicking question
MORE: Purdue lands Samford grad transfer kicker via portal | Spring position check-up: Special teams
The courtship between Mitchell Fineran and Purdue was quick.
The Samford kicker entered the portal on April 29. Five days later, the grad transfer committed to the Boilermakers.
“Since COVID hit, we ended up playing our season in the spring,” said Fineran. “Going into it, I was hoping to have a real good year. And I did. At the end of the year, I re-evaluated and I knew I was graduating early. So, I decided to go into the transfer portal.”
Fineran excelled this spring for FCS Samford, which is in Birmingham, Ala. He earned All-Southern Conference honors after nailing 15-of-18 field-goal attempts. Schools were interested in the 5-10, 183-pound Fort Valley, Ga., native. Temple, Western Michigan and Toledo were among those who reached out to Fineran.
“After a few days of being in there, a few schools reached out,” said Fineran, who will arrive in West Lafayette in June. “Purdue did, too. And I really liked the staff, I really like where the program is going. And Coach (Marty) Biagi, the special teams coordinator, I think he has a great knowledge of the kicking game and special teams. And that's really what sold me. And that's kind of how it all came about.”
Fineran confirmed he will be on full scholarship, making him the lone kicker on the Boilermaker roster who isn’t a walk-on. The senior also will have two years of eligibility.
He connected on 77 percent of his career field-goal attempts (47-of-61) at Samford from 2018-21. In addition to being first-team All-Southern Conference in 2021, Fineran was second-team All-Southern Conference in 2019 and part of the All-Freshman team in 2018.
Fineran is the likely favorite to replace departed J.D. Dellinger as Purdue’s kicker. The program also may have a new punter with the summer arrival of 23-year-old Australian Jack Ansell.
“I’m trying to compete, coming up there to work hard and do the best I can and compete to win the job,” said Fineran.
This spring, redshirt freshman Edward Dellinger—J.D.’s younger brother—and sophomores Ben Freehill and Chris Van Eekeren battled for the field-goal job. But no one stepped up. And in addition to kicking field goals, Fineran has his sights set on kicking off, too.
“My kickoffs this past year were really good,” said Fineran. “I made a big improvement, big jump from my sophomore year to my junior year. This year, I had 31 touchbacks out of 54 kickoffs, I believe. I really take pride in doing kickoffs, too. My kickoff game has gotten better, just being consistent on field goals is pretty important, too.”
How strong is his leg? Does he have 50-yard field-goal range?
“Since I've been in college, I was 1-for-3 on 50-yarders,” said Fineran. “I tried one my sophomore year at Mercer, and I missed that one. Should have hit that one. And then tried one in the rain at Auburn, came up a little short on that one.
“But this year, I was 7-for-7 from 40-50 and then I had that one 50-yarder at Furman, which I hit pretty well. My range, I'd say 55 and in, comfortably. I’ve hit from further than that, but I know for sure that I'm confident within that range.”
Fineran never has been to Purdue, but he visited Indiana University when he was a recruit.
“It's really gonna be exciting, really cool,” said Fineran of his chance to kick in the Big Ten. “A great opportunity, especially to further my career aspirations of hopefully playing in the NFL and working towards that goal. So, I feel like this jump to the Big Ten will really help me elevate my game and hopefully pursue my dreams of playing in the league.”
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