TAMPA, Fla. — Former University of Florida placekicker Evan McPherson is riding a hot streak entering Super Bowl LVI. He’s kicked two game-winners during the Cincinnati Bengals postseason run.
The fifth-round draft pick’s sudden fame has earned him many nicknames.
“If I had to choose, I kind of like ‘Money Mac,’” McPherson said. “It kind of has a nice ring to it you could say.”
He also has a cocky confidence.
“In my mind, there is no way this ball is not going through the uprights,” he added.
The rookie kicker even called his shot on the sidelines in the division playoffs to beat the top-seeded Tennessee Titans.
“He gives a little warm-up swing and he said ‘looks like we’re going to the AFC Championship.’” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said.
McPherson, who was the only kicker drafted in 2021, is on track to break the record for most field goals in a postseason (14, Adam Vinatieri in 2016). McPherson is 12-12 in the Bengals’ three post-season games, including an overtime winner against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game to send Cincinnati to its first Super Bowl in 33 years.
“You’re kind of like a sniper. You have one shot and one kill. It’s really cut and dry,” McPherson said. “You either make the kick or miss it. Knowing how important your job is you’re going to do everything possible to make that kick. It doesn’t matter if the crowd is a record-setting number of decibels.”
His experience of kicking in sold-out stadiums in the SEC certainly helps, but he focuses on the process.
“All eyes are on you, you know that subconsciously, at the moment, you feel like nobody is watching you,” he said.
The world will be watching “Money Mac” in the Super Bowl on Sunday night.
