When I think of the most underrated players from the Jonathan Smith era, several names come to mind.
There’s Malcolm Bell, Jordan Turner, and even a special teams star like Jonathan Kim. Honestly, kickers and punters don’t get enough love, but the latter has been a staple in East Lansing for years. Kickers, however, haven’t been quite as successful at Michigan State since Mark Dantonio retired which is why fans were so drawn to Kim.
You’d be amazed at how quickly you can win over a fanbase just by making field goals consistently and Kim proved that by making 13-of-18 attempts in his first year at Michigan State after attempting just one field goal in four years at North Carolina.
It was pretty clear from the get-go that Kim had a rocket for a leg and he proved that once again during his sixth year of college football. In his follow-up season with Michigan State after sticking around when Mel Tucker was fired, Kim made an astounding 19-of-21 field goal tries and generated some NFL draft buzz before getting signed by the Chicago Bears.
Kim didn’t end up making the 53-man roster and this offseason, he tried taking his talents to the Canadian Football League but unfortunately he was cut once again.
This time, he was cut by the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. They announced their roster cuts on Saturday and unfortunately he was not destined to be their kicker. Fellow Spartan Malcolm Bell, however, did make the roster following his first-round selection earlier this month.
Jonathan Kim has the leg to play professional football
I’m actually shocked that Kim didn’t make the roster after the career that he had in East Lansing. In two seasons with Michigan State, Kim was 32-of-39 on field goal attempts. He did miss two extra points but that can be forgiven when you’re almost automatic from 30-plus yards out.
It wasn’t like Kim was just kicking chip-shots, he was also drilling 50-plus yarders.
In fact, Kim was 11-of-13 from 40-49 yards and 7-of-11 from 50-plus. Hitting 18-of-24 field goals from 40-plus yards just goes to show that he belongs on a professional football roster. Consistent kickers don’t exactly grow on trees and I believe Kim is too good to not sign a pro deal.
He was originally signed by the Bears but didn’t make the roster and now seeing him get released by a Canadian Football League team just feels weird.
Hopefully he can get another shot somewhere because he’s good enough to become a fan favorite somewhere just as fast as Spartan fans fell in love with him.
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