There are still a couple of weeks before the start of the season, so I still have time to write about the great kickers that K-State has had over the years. In the last 30 years, the Wildcats have had some of the best kickers in college football, including one that I might consider THE best. Choosing the top four kickers in K-State history was not easy, but I feel confident in my selections, although one could make a case for a couple of honorable mentions that I placed just outside the top four.

Here it is, the Mount Rushmore of Kansas State kickers…

Martin Gramatica

Gramatica tops the list as the best K-State kicker of all time. He played at K-State from 1994 to 1998. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him in the third round of the 1999 NFL draft. During his ten years playing in the NFL, he was part of a Super Bowl champion and a Pro Bowler.

Gramatica is K-State’s career leader in scoring with 349 points. He scored more points than Collin Klein, Darren Sproles, and many other great Wildcats. He is also on just about every kicking record in the K-State record book.

First in career extra points made.
Fourth place in career extra point made percentage.
Second place in career field goals made.
Tied for first place in 50-plus yard field goals made in a career with five.
Kicked the longest field goal in school, and NCAA, history, at 65 yards.
He was the Lou Groza award winner in 1997 and runner-up in 1998.

Matthew McCrane

McCrane played at K-State from 2014 to 2017. He has kicked in the NFL for the last four years for numerous teams, but it was a no-brainer to put him in the top four due to his place in the K-State record books.

Third place on the K-State career scoring list with 304 points.
Fourth place in extra points made.
Record holder for consecutive extra points made in a career with 105.
First place in career extra point made percentage (99.3).
First place in career field goals made.
Tied for first place in 50-plus yard field goals made in a career with five.
Most consecutive field goals made in a career with 16.
First place in career field goal percentage.
Semi-finalist for the Lou Groza award in 2017.
First team all-Big 12 in 2017.

Jamie Rheem

Rheem played at K-State from 1996 to 2000. Following Martin Gramatica as the team’s kicker may have been a difficult task at the time, but Rheem showed he was up to the challenge. Take a look at where he sits in the record books in some key categories.

Sixth place in career scoring.
Third place in extra points made.
Third place in career extra point made percentage.
Fourth place in career field goals made.
Third place in career field goal percentage.
Runner up for the Lou Groza award in 1999 and 2000.

Third team All-American by Football News in 1999 and first-team All-American by Football News and the American Football Coaches Association in 2000.

Blake Lynch

Lynch played at K-State from 2016 to 2020. Admittedly, I had someone else slotted for the fourth spot until I looked at Lynch’s numbers. He is near the top of the K-State record books in some key kicking categories.

Ninth place in career scoring.
Third place in career field goals made.
Second place in career field goal percentage.

A couple of other kickers that I considered:

Anthony Cantele is in eighth place in career scoring, fifth place in extra points made, second place in career extra point made percentage, and sixth place in career field goals made.

Joe Rheem is in fifth place in career scoring, second in extra points made, and fifth place in career field goals made.