Great guy, great talent. He was one of the Paladins that we entertained in the pre-season feed.
I wish him the very best.
Grayson Atkins
He will be missed. Not sure how you replace him.
oldfrt’s boy, youngestfrt, can show him the ropes up in chapel hole
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers,
For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother
For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother
I will be very surprised if we don't see him in the NFL after NC.
Unfortunately none will be eligible to kick in 2020.The Jackal wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:49 pmAtkins is a top flight talent and will be sorely missed.
That said, Furman has produced a long line of really good kickers.
Luck to him, I don't think he has helped himself any.
I don't think this is so much about football as it is Atkins trying to turn 4 years of football into two degrees.
paladinfan12, MNORM liked this
Come on. Hasn't helped himself? Much to be determined but I can only imagine he believed he'd kick in the big crowd, big game atmosphere games of the ACC with a possible drive toward a championship game berth. Yes, it's a big difference. He'll have a famous head coach with his program on the rise. More connections, more exposure, more supporters, more big games, bigger moments, new life experiences, etc. etc. Good for the guy. He did about all he could at Furman. Everybody needs a new chapter every now and then.....and, like you, I wish him the best....but I do think this will definitely help him, pro football or not.
Well I get the point about the double degree etc. and in that regard, yes. As far as NFL aspirations, no, he has not helped himself and is probably taking a bit of a chance.Kennypowers wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:44 pmCome on. Hasn't helped himself? Much to be determined but I can only imagine he believed he'd kick in the big crowd, big game atmosphere games of the ACC with a possible drive toward a championship game berth. Yes, it's a big difference. He'll have a famous head coach with his program on the rise. More connections, more exposure, more supporters, more big games, bigger moments, new life experiences, etc. etc. Good for the guy. He did about all he could at Furman. Everybody needs a new chapter every now and then.....and, like you, I wish him the best....but I do think this will definitely help him, pro football or not.
i am sure this is prolly a good move for him but I hate it that now if he gets to the NFL he will be from UNC and not Furman. I kinda wish he had declared for the NFL draft this year. Maybe he checked on the NFL chances and tought this was the better move.
From a football perspective, there's always a risk moving from the known to the unknown.
There's a really recent example - Wofford's David Marvin. Marvin was an All American kicker who grad transferred to UGA a few years ago. In his single season with the Bulldogs, he attempted 1 field goal and had two kickoffs. He likely would have attempted 20+ FGs that year for Wofford.
Of course, I do not believe this is a football-only decision for Atkins.
Furman only offers about 4 masters programs. If he isn’t in chemistry, education or art, he needed to move on.
MNORM liked this
All UNC's kickers/punters/kickoff guys are underclassman. Assuming they are coming back, nothing will be handed to Grayson. I'm sure he considered that before making a decision, but I'm almost 100% sure he won't be doing all three, and there's a chance that he won't get to be the guy at any position. Although, he looks to be the better FG kicker based purely on numbers. I wish him all the best. I get why he did it. Besides the degree, if he can win a starting spot, he'll be kicking in big environments every week and not just one like at Furman. While I still think that kicking is about the same everywhere from NAIA to the NFL, there is something to be said for kicking in a big environment at the Power 5 level in front of 60K+ like you would at the NFL level.