Kicker Matt Abramo transferring to Cal|Cal Hot Topics|Team BattleGround|College BattleGround

Erik Powell was a somewhat unexpected and very pleasant surprise for the WSU kicking game last year, converting on 20 of 26 field goals and knocking every PAT attempt through the uprights. The redshirt junior is the presumptive starter for this season which means, much like the quarterback position where only one person can generally have the job, transfers aren’t unexpected. On his Facebook page this morning, redshirt freshman kicker Matt Abramo announced he’d be transferring to Cal.

For Abramo, the move south to Berkeley makes a good deal of sense. While WSU is fairly crowded at the position with under and upperclassmen alike, Cal only has two kickers on their roster, including their returning junior kicker Matt Anderson who hit 18 of 21 attempts last year. Abramo will have to sit a year anyway due to NCAA transfer rules, so he’ll get a couple of years to be the elder statesman of kickers for the Golden Bears. The transfer to Cal is also a move much closer to home for Abramo, who is from Petaluma, less than an hour’s drive from campus.

So where does this leave WSU? Still in pretty good shape with Powell having two years of eligibility remaining and plenty of depth at the position. It’s not unheard of for kickers to come in as true freshman and win jobs either so the staff could very well bring in an all-world kicker that beats out everyone still on the roster. Regardless, if Powell can keep up the improvement or even just stay about the same, the Cougs will be just fine.

We wish Matt nothing but the best in his future endeavors at Cal.