What former Notre Dame kicker Blake Grupe said about starting for the New Orleans Saints
Blake Grupe would probably be the first person to say he doesn’t look like an NFL player. He’s 5-7 and 156 pounds. But, nonetheless, the one-year Notre Dame placekicking graduate student rental is officially set to start for the New Orleans Saints to open the 2023 NFL season.
The Saints traded six-year starter Wil Lutz to the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, opening an avenue for Grupe to be the team’s No. 1 placekicker in his rookie season. Once he attempts a field goal in a regular season game he’ll be just the fourth former Fighting Irish kicker to do so. Acccording to Pro Football Reference, he’ll join Bob Thomas, John Carney and Kyle Brindza in that regard.
“It’s been a wild ride,” Grupe said. “Thankful for everything that’s come. It doesn’t come easy. It comes with a lot of hard work. Just thankful for it all.”
Grupe told reporters in New Orleans he made his first call after the news broke to his father. It was a short one because he had to get into the coaches’ offices for some briefings. Several calls were in order once he finally got a chance to catch his breath Tuesday evening.
“Obviously it’s a relief,” Grupe said. “It’s been a long camp. It’s been a highly competitive camp going against a guy like that who’s done it for a while and done it at a high level. It was a relief but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. The job is still the same. But I’m glad to be here for this team and just thankful for this opportunity.”
Lutz, 29, is coming off his worst season in the league from an accuracy standpoint. He made 23-of-31 attempts for percentage of 74.2. His career average is 84.6. He even made 93.3 percent of his kicks in 2018.
Grupe spent one year at Notre Dame after four at Arkansas State. As a Fighting Irish kicker, he made 14-of-19 attempts for an average of 73.7. In his college career, he was 78-of-105 for an average if 74.3. Ironically, just a tenth of a percentage point better than Lutz was what was ultimately his final season with the Saints.
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Grupe made a 31-yard game-winning field goal as time expired in his first career preseason game. The Saints beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 26-24. Grupe was 2-for-2 with a long of 37 yards in his second preseason game and 2-for-3 with a long of 50 in his third. He lone miss of the preseason came from 60 yards out.
Lutz was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts in the preseason. The Saints were compensated with a 2024 seventh-round pick in exchange for Lutz according to ESPN. Lutz is reuniting with Broncos new head coach Sean Payton, who was the head coach of the Saints when Lutz was drafted. Grupe has nothing but respect for Lutz, who he said made him a better kicker just by watching his work ethic and learning the ways of an entrenched kicker in the NFL.
Grupe said the disappearance of Lutz from the Saints’ roster doesn’t change his personal routine. It’s business as usual for 24-year-old who will represent Notre Dame in his first start in a regular season game against the Tennessee Titans at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 10.
“It’s what I came here to do,” Grupe said. “It’s why I came here. If you get caught up in everything else, then you’re not worried about your job. I wake up tomorrow and I feel the exact same that I’ve felt in the last month. Just wake up and do it.”
