South Florida Football Kicker Nico Gramatica Named American Conference Special Teams Player of the Week
September 07, 2026 | Football
Gramatica nailed a career-high four field goals, including his program-best sixth career from 50+ yards.
TAMPA, Fla., September 7, 2026 – South Florida junior kicker Nico Gramatica has been named the American Conference's Special Teams Player of the Week following a career-best performance in the Bulls' 19-9 season-opening win over Florida International.
Gramatica connected on all four of his field goal attempts in Saturday night's victory, setting a career high for made field goals and accounting for 13 of USF's 19 points as the Bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter to give first-year head coach Brian Hartline a win in his debut. He opened the scoring with a 37-yarder in the first quarter, then drilled a 53-yard field goal — his sixth career make from 50-plus yards, a program record — early in the second.
After D.J. Crowther's 1-yard touchdown run gave USF a 13-3 fourth-quarter lead, Gramatica added a 30-yard field goal on the ensuing possession, then capped the night from 29 yards with 1:44 to play, immediately after a Tavin Ward interception set the Bulls up in FIU territory. The performance extended his made field goal streak to 11, the fourth-longest in program history and just two shy of the program record. Gramatica was also perfect on his lone extra-point attempt and handled all six USF kickoffs, five of which went for touchbacks. His 13 points scored tied his previous career high.
A preseason Lou Groza Award Watch List honoree, Gramatica enters his junior season as one of the top kickers in the country. He set the USF single-season record for extra points made (59) last year and holds the program record for 50-plus-yard field goals.
Up Next: South Florida (1-0) hits the road for its American Conference opener at Army next Saturday.
Follow South Florida Athletics
For the latest updates from South Florida Athletics, visit GoUSFBulls.com. Follow the Bulls on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Get your tickets today!
Call 1-800-GO-BULLS (1-800-462-8557) or email BullsTickets@usf.edu to claim your season or single-game tickets. You can also download the South Florida Bulls app on the Android or Apple stores to purchase tickets and parking. Visit USFBullsTix.com for more information.
About South Florida Football
The South Florida football program first took the field in 1997 and will play its 30th season in 2026.
In 2025, the Bulls went 9-4, earned a third straight bowl appearance, made the program's first College Football Playoff ranking appearance, and were ranked four times in the weekly Associated Press Top 25 poll. South Florida completed construction on a new $22-million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023, and construction is in progress on an on-campus stadium and football operations center broke slated for completion by 2027.
The Bulls have posted 18 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including two consensus selections, the last coming in 2021), and 35 first-team all-conference honorees. South Florida has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, while the Bulls have made 13 bowl game appearances (going 8-5), tied for the third-most nationally in the first 25 seasons of a program's bowl eligibility. South Florida posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016, while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. The Bulls spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and reached as high as No. 2 in the AP rankings during the 2007 season.
– #GoBulls –
Gramatica connected on all four of his field goal attempts in Saturday night's victory, setting a career high for made field goals and accounting for 13 of USF's 19 points as the Bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter to give first-year head coach Brian Hartline a win in his debut. He opened the scoring with a 37-yarder in the first quarter, then drilled a 53-yard field goal — his sixth career make from 50-plus yards, a program record — early in the second.
After D.J. Crowther's 1-yard touchdown run gave USF a 13-3 fourth-quarter lead, Gramatica added a 30-yard field goal on the ensuing possession, then capped the night from 29 yards with 1:44 to play, immediately after a Tavin Ward interception set the Bulls up in FIU territory. The performance extended his made field goal streak to 11, the fourth-longest in program history and just two shy of the program record. Gramatica was also perfect on his lone extra-point attempt and handled all six USF kickoffs, five of which went for touchbacks. His 13 points scored tied his previous career high.
A preseason Lou Groza Award Watch List honoree, Gramatica enters his junior season as one of the top kickers in the country. He set the USF single-season record for extra points made (59) last year and holds the program record for 50-plus-yard field goals.
Up Next: South Florida (1-0) hits the road for its American Conference opener at Army next Saturday.
Follow South Florida Athletics
For the latest updates from South Florida Athletics, visit GoUSFBulls.com. Follow the Bulls on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Get your tickets today!
Call 1-800-GO-BULLS (1-800-462-8557) or email BullsTickets@usf.edu to claim your season or single-game tickets. You can also download the South Florida Bulls app on the Android or Apple stores to purchase tickets and parking. Visit USFBullsTix.com for more information.
About South Florida Football
The South Florida football program first took the field in 1997 and will play its 30th season in 2026.
In 2025, the Bulls went 9-4, earned a third straight bowl appearance, made the program's first College Football Playoff ranking appearance, and were ranked four times in the weekly Associated Press Top 25 poll. South Florida completed construction on a new $22-million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023, and construction is in progress on an on-campus stadium and football operations center broke slated for completion by 2027.
The Bulls have posted 18 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including two consensus selections, the last coming in 2021), and 35 first-team all-conference honorees. South Florida has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, while the Bulls have made 13 bowl game appearances (going 8-5), tied for the third-most nationally in the first 25 seasons of a program's bowl eligibility. South Florida posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016, while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. The Bulls spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and reached as high as No. 2 in the AP rankings during the 2007 season.
– #GoBulls –
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