'Money': Indiana Has 'Lot of Confidence' in K Nico Radicic, Who Missed 1 FG All Offseason

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For six months, Nico Radicic didn't leave the 20-yard line.

Then a high school freshman, Radicic, who doubled as a soccer player, wanted nothing more than to step back and show off his leg. His coach wouldn't let him.

It's now the reason Radicic, Indiana football's redshirt sophomore kicker, has one of the nation's most accurate right legs.

"It was just the 20-yard line, you're going to make it down the middle every single time," Radicic said in fall camp. "I'm like, 'Coach, I need to go further. I'm tired of this 20-yard line.' He was like, 'No, you're hitting 20-yard line, 20-yard line, over and over again.' Got to a point where I realized I'm getting pretty accurate.

"And then when I get back to 45, get back to 55, it just feels like I'm on the 20-yard line and he's right behind me watching."

Radicic decided to pursue football full-time the following school year, angering his soccer coach in the process but now enlightening fans inside Memorial Stadium on Saturdays in the fall.

A native Croatian who moved to the United States in 2016, Radicic emerged as one of the top kickers in the class of 2023. He earned a five-star ranking from Kohl's Kicking, the premier special teams recruiting outlet, and was a top five kicker for both 247Sports and ESPN.

Radicic made only one appearance as a true freshman in 2023, battling an undisclosed injury that ultimately required surgery in January of 2024. But he recovered and won the Hoosiers' starting job in coach Curt Cignetti's first season, and he delivered on the expectations set by his recruiting rankings.

The 5-foot-11, 193-pound Radicic went a perfect 69 for 69 on extra point attempts in 2024, and he was 10 for 11 on field goals, with his lone missing come in the snow against Purdue. He broke the single-season program record for extra points in just nine games, and his 69 total extra points ranked second in the FBS.

His highlight came against Michigan, when he connected on field goals from 40 and 41 yards, the longest of his college career. His 41-yarder pushed the Hoosiers' lead to 20-15 with just over two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Radicic carried his accuracy into the spring, where he didn't miss any kicks with the team. His spring was so proficient he found himself hoping he'd miss at least once in fall camp, just so he could feel the emotions that accompany it — and he did, but only once.

"Now that it did, I'm ready to just get back on that high horse and keep making kicks," Radicic said.

Radicic hopes to attempt longer-range kicks this fall, and he said in the spring his injury limited his range — during his road to recovery, he just wanted to be consistent from within 45 yards.

He said he was mostly capped at 53 yards, though in pre-game warmups against Purdue, he connected from 58 yards. This season, once Indiana's offense crosses the opposing 40-yard line, Radicic will be ready.

"Right now, I feel pretty comfortable at 55," Radicic said. "I could hit it further than that, but I feel comfortable sitting at 55 and I know I can make that kick."

Cignetti said Radicic has been "money" as a kicker, though he didn't reveal the distance he feels comfortable putting Radicic on the field.

But the bottom line, Cignetti said, is that Indiana's staff has full belief in Radicic, who set a lofty bar with a near-perfect season in 2024.

"I got a lot of confidence in Nico," Cignetti said. "We've been blessed with our field goal kickers the last five, six, seven years, and Nico is no exception. Lot of confidence in him."

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