SU kicker Andre Szmyt signs with Chicago Bears after going undrafted

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Former Syracuse placekicker Andre Szmyt has been signed by the Chicago Bears after failing to be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Szmyt made a resurgence in his final season with Syracuse, returning to what head coach Dino Babers deemed was “old Andre,” a product of a more focused kicking approach from special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky and a consistent holder and long snapper. He finished his final year with the Orange going 20-for-26 on field goals and perfect on all 40 points after touchdowns. He was 8-for-8 on field goals within 29 yards and tied his career long with a 54-yard field goal.

He ended his five year career with the Orange as the starter in all 60 games and ended with an 80.95% field goal percentage. Szmyt started off his career bursting onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2018 winning the Lou Groza Award and earning unanimous All-America honors after signing with the Orange as a four-star kicking prospect out of Vernon Hills (Illinois) High School. Despite playing just one year in high school, transitioning from soccer for his senior year, Szmyt’s reputation as a calm kicker with a strong leg carried him to Syracuse.

He went 30-for-34 his freshman year with a longest field goal of 54 yards. Then, he experienced a dip in production. Tasked with vying for longer and longer field goals to make up for Syracuse’s dwindling offense, Szmyt sped up his kicking process, sinking his percentage to a career-low 64% in 2021.

“When you’re starting to get longer and longer and longer on field goals, on average, we kind of swing out of our shoes a little bit,” former placekicker Cole Murphy said to The Daily Orange in September.