CBS called TCU’s run to the national championship “unlikely,” adding that it serves as a “blueprint for success” in an era of player empowerment, but how much do we know about the Horned Frogs’ place kicker, Griffin Kell?
“I’m probably in the minority in terms of my belief that anything that’s good for the players, I view, is a good thing,” CBS Sports quotes the team’s coach, Sonny Dykes, as saying.
Ultimately, TCU lost by a substantial margin to the Georgia Bulldogs. Capping its live coverage of the game, CBS wrote elsewhere that Stetson Bennett’s team had “overpowered” TCU in the “most dominant victory” of the title game era.
The result is that Georgia is the first back-to-back national champion team since Alabama won the title in 2011 and 2012. But going into it, many were predicting that Kell would score a winning kick, like he did in November.
How old is Griffin Kell? Age and education of TCU place kicker
At time of publication, Griffin Kell’s age is 21, but he’s about to turn 22.
According to social media posts from friends and family, he celebrates his birthday on January 19. He therefore drank his “first ‘legal’ beer” at the age of 21 almost exactly a year ago – Griffin Kell will be 22 by the end of January 2023.
He’s a senior at Texas Christian University (TCU). He first started attending TCU in 2019, and is midway through his third of four seasons with the Horned Frogs.
While he was in high school, Kell converted 25 out of 31 field-goal attempts. He trained under TCU All-America placekicker Jaden Oberkrom, and “chose TCU over Colorado, Texas Tech and Houston.”
What are his height and weight?
ESPN lists Griffin Kell’s height as 6ft exactly (1.83m), making him about average when compared to NFL kickers, according to Idaho University’s research.
His listed weight is 193lb (87.5kg), which may be slightly under the average of kickers in the NFL.
Kell is from Arlington, Texas and wears the number 39 jersey. His team may have lost to the Georgia Bulldogs – quite emphatically, too – but Griffin Kell has made a name for himself, and to do so at such a young age bodes well for his future in the sport.
Numerous Twitter users had predicted that he would score the winning kick, as he did during TCU’s win at Baylor in November. See below.
Stetson Bennett’s best game of the season vs Max Duggan’s worst
Yahoo Sports journalist Nick Bromberg called it “Stetson Bennett’s great game.”
Bennett put in a “phenomenal title game performance,” he adds, becoming the third quarterback to rush for more than one touchdown in a BCS or CFP national title game. He also threw for 304 yards and four scores.
The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, enjoyed only a brief glimmer of hope. It involved Max Duggan, but that hasn’t stopped Bromberg from calling this particular game Duggan’s worst of the season.
Georgia’s game plan “worked perfectly,” and that was that. The Athletic has dubbed Bennett a “Georgia legend,” but there is hope for the younger – Stetson’s age is 25 – Griffin Kell yet. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that, when Kell’s time is up at TCU, he will be “among the best kickers in Horned Frogs history.”
“He’s always been a clutch kicker,” the outlet gushes.