Aidan Birr’s first visit to Atlanta was for Georgia Tech’s camp for specialists in June. It looks like Birr, a kicker from Kennedale, Texas, will be coming back.
After an impressive performance at the camp and a month of communication, Birr was offered a scholarship Tuesday, an invitation that he said he promptly accepted. He announced his decision Friday.
“I was just waiting on them to send me a graphic to post (on social media),” Birr said.
Birr’s commitment brings to 14 the number of prospects with spots in coach Geoff Collins’ 2022 signing class. He’s the first specialist. The 2021 roster includes one kicker on scholarship, grad transfer Brent Cimaglia from Tennessee, who has one season of eligibility remaining.
Birr was connected to Tech through his high-school coach’s relationship with Yellow Jackets running backs coach Tashard Choice, which led to him attending the specialists camp.
While he couldn’t recall how many kicks he attempted that day, Birr remembered missing only two or three. Along with his kickoffs, it was evidently a performance that convinced Tech coaches to pursue him. Birr said he has been communicating the most with cornerbacks coach Jeff Popovich, who also coaches special teams.
It made for an easy decision when Popovich and special-teams analyst Tim Conner called with the offer.
“They just made me feel like family,” Birr said. “It’s not only a good school athletically, but academically, as well.”
Tech is in need of improved performance from the kicking spot. The Jackets have made six of 16 field-goal tries (38%) in Collins’ first two seasons. Tech’s touchback rate on kickoffs in the past two seasons is 17%. The rates are at or near the bottom of FBS.
As a junior at Kennedale High, which is near Fort Worth, he was 10 for 16 on field-goal attempts and also recorded touchbacks on 54 of 79 kickoffs (68% touchback rate), according to his highlight video. High-school kickoffs are taken at the 40-yard line, five yards ahead of the college kickoff spot, but Birr’s highlight reel showed him putting several balls deep into the end zone or beyond. He said he feels confident making field goals out to 50 or 55 yards. He also did the punting for Kennedale.
“They just wanted a dude that can come in and make kicks,” Birr said.
The offer from Tech was his first. He had also kicked at camps this summer at Texas A&M, Texas State and Wisconsin. He is not rated by 247Sports or Rivals, although 247Sports has only 10 rated kickers nationally and Rivals has one. Earning a scholarship offer isn’t easy as a kicker. Teams often invite specialists to walk on with the chance to be placed on scholarship if they earn a spot in the lineup.
“All you can do is just go out there and try to perform your best,” Birr said. “It is kind of worrisome if you don’t get an offer.”
Birr got his offer and accepted.
“You feel relieved that all of that stress of thinking about where you’re going to go is out of the way,” he said.
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