Nebraska adds Cal transfer kicker Kyle Cunanan, will compete for starting job
The Nebraska football team added a surprise transfer portal addition from Cal kicker Kyle Cunanan on Thursday.
The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Cunanan began his college career in 2023 at Charlotte, where he connected on 9-of-15 field goals as a freshman.
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In 2024, Cunanan was a perfect 5-of-5 on field goals, but played in just three games at Charlotte, preserving his redshirt. He transferred to Cal this spring, and he was the only kicker on the Golden Bears roster. He opted to leave Cal in April because the major he wanted to get into was not available to him.
“I was looking for a specific major, which is construction management,” Cunanan told HuskerOnline on Thursday. “My previous school did not offer that, and academics are pretty big for me and my family. That was kind of my motive to hit the portal, just to see what was out there.
“Through my kicking coach, and just kind of mutual connections, I got in touch with coach (Mike) Ekeler. I started talking to him a bunch. Him and coach (Brett) Maher both looked over my film, we talked and they were like ‘We want to have you out here for an OV. We are fired up. We want to show you everything we’ve got going on here.’ I actually just got home tonight. I loved everything I saw. It was phenomenal – remarkable. It was the greatest thing I’ve seen in terms of football facilities or any college in the entire country has to offer.”
Cunanan will come to NU with three years to play three. He took his official visit to Lincoln on Thursday and signed his paperwork upon arriving back home around 10:30 p.m.
Cunanan will walk into a kicking competition at NU
What’s interesting about the addition of Cunanan is that he will be walking into a very competitive environment.
Tristan Alvano was NU’s primary kicker in 2023, while John Hohl handled most of the duties in 2024. Both are back. Alvano suffered a groin injury that kept him out for most of 2024, while Hohl was out this spring with a quad injury.
“Coach Ekeler said it would be a competition, and that’s something I’m totally up for,” Cunanan said. “I’ve been in plenty of kicking competitions throughout my career. At the end of the day, it just makes all three of us better with how it plays out.
“The person who makes the most kicks will win the job. I am confident in my abilities, and I look forward to building chemistry with the team and the unit.”
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Ekeler and Maher were looking for a ‘clean ball striker’
Cunanan was not hosted by a specific player at NU and spent most of his time with kickers coach Brett Maher and special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler.
“I talked to a bunch of different guys walking around. It was actually a super welcoming environment,’ Cunanan said. “When I first got there, actually Dylan Raiola came right up to me and welcomed me as soon as I got there. It was just a great community.”
The biggest thing Maher and Ekeler told Cunanan was that they were looking for a kicker with a strong leg and the ability to be a consistent ball striker.
When they watched his tape, that was something that immediately stood out.
“We sat down and watched my film together,” Cunanan said. “We talked about a lot of things, but mainly how important it is to kick a clean ball here because of the winds. If you don’t, the wind will mess with it a lot. If you do, in theory, the ball will cut straight through it.
“That’s kind of one of the big things they were looking for in this process, and they saw that in me in terms of ball striking and hitting a clean enough ball that doesn’t get affected by the wind. Being consistent in a windy environment is important.”
Cunanan will join NU as a scholarship roster addition and is expected to return to Lincoln in late May. He is the first known transfer portal addition NU has added since February.
