With big leg and personality to match, Gophers kicker Dragan Kesich embraces pressure

Dragan Kesich had always dreamed about this situation. Game on the line. Three seconds left. Facing a 47-yard field-goal attempt to give his team a thrilling victory.

So, when Kesich's left foot hit the football and sent it tumbling through the air, splitting the uprights to give the Gophers a season-opening 13-10 victory over Nebraska, the celebration was on in front of a sold-out crowd at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Kesich pumped his fist, made the sign of the cross and thrust his arms skyward. Then he waited as his teammates stormed the field and promptly … lifted holder Mark Crawford into the air.

"If you watch the film, you see Crawford jumping and jumping," Kesich recalled. "I talked to [tight end] Nick Kallerup because he was the one who picked up Crawford. I said, 'Kallerup, dude. Like what happened?' He said, 'I turned around, saw a guy jumping and thought it was you.' "

The unintentional shade thrown at Kesich didn't last long because offensive tackle Quinn Carroll quickly found the walk-off star and hoisted him in jubilation. The Gophers seek a 2-0 start in Saturday night's home game against Eastern Michigan, knowing they have found a weapon in Kesich, a former walk-on with a big leg and even bigger personality.

Last week was his first game as a starting placekicker.

"I had all the confidence in the world that he was going to make that kick," said Gophers coach P.J. Fleck, who afterward gave his kicker a big hug and pretended to shine Kesich's left shoe.

Said Kesich: "It was a great moment. A real moment."

It's also a moment that's been a long time coming for Kesich, a fourth-year player from the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek, Wis., who has been the Gophers' kickoff specialist since the third game of the 2020 season. He has been outstanding in that role, with his 64.6-yard average tying for first nationally in 2022 and his 83.1% touchback success ranking third.

Kickers, though, want to do more than kick off, and Kesich patiently learned from predecessor Matthew Trickett. When the placekicking competition opened up during training camp, Kesich seized his opportunity.

"We put him through the wringer in spring practice," Fleck said. "Maybe 10 kicks in a row from all different places, and he made all 10. We put him in high-pressure situations."

Kesich had two other field-goal attempts against Nebraska, making one from 34 yards and missing from 54. One play before the winning kick, running back Sean Tyler gained 11 yards to make it a 47-yard attempt instead of a 58-yarder. Fleck, though, said he would have been comfortable with Kesich trying from 58 because he has connected from 65 in practice.

"I wasn't worried at all," Fleck said. "I won't blink with that young man."

Competitive juices flow

Joel Paar, football coach at Oak Creek High School, is thrilled but not surprised with Kesich's success with the Gophers. He has known the now-6-4, 240-pounder "since he was a little chubby guy" and watched him develop into a standout kicker and leader.

"He is probably one of the craziest, toughest competitors I've ever been around," said Paar, who made Kesich a team captain. "… If he gets a chance to play checkers with his grandma, he's going to try and beat her 10 out of 10 times."

Kesich received interest from Illinois State and Washington State while in high school, but the persistence of Gophers special teams coach Rob Wenger paid off when he accepted a preferred walk-on offer.

"He went to bat for this kid left and right," Paar said of Wenger. "Didn't coddle him and made him work."

Personality on display

There's more to Dragan Kesich than just kicking. He oozes personality, he is popular with his teammates and he has fully embraced social media. During training camp, he records "Kamp with Kesich" videos for the X platform (formerly Twitter), chronicling Gophers activities on and off the field.

Kesich is proud of his Serbian heritage; his grandparents were born in Serbia and emigrated to the United States. He has a Serbian flag in his room and is a big fan of Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.

"Every time my dad calls me, we speak in Serbian," Kesich said. "It's tough being like the only Serb here. Back home [in Milwaukee] there are Serbs everywhere."

Kesich was a standout soccer player as a youth — "I have a plaque in my house that says, '100 goals in a season.' I was a stud," he said — but he opted to concentrate on football.

Kesich's personality also is on display with his ever-changing hairstyles, which recently have included smiley faces and Squirtle from Pokémon fame. For the Gophers opener, he had a light-blue arrow dyed into his hair and a story to go with it.

"Ron Lindenberg, [linebacker] Cody Lindenberg's dad, has a picture of my arrow on his phone," Kesich said. "So, during the field goal, he was aiming it on his phone. Everybody kept coming up to me, 'Hey, is the arrow for a straight line?' Turns out, the arrow is in honor of a character from 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.' "

Fleck embraces the confidence Kesich brings through walking a path that's not well worn.

"He is himself," Fleck said. "You don't put smiley faces in your hair if you're worried about what people are going to think about you. … He's made for those situations because of who he is.''

Randy Johnson's Gophers prediction: Who wins Saturday and why?

Memories of a loss to another Mid-American Conference opponent — 20-14 to Bowling Green in 2021 — should keep the team focused Satirday night's game against Eastern Michigan.