Roberto Aguayo figures to have a lot more pressure on him to make field goals in close NFL games than any pro-day workout could match, but give Mike Tomlin credit for trying. The Pittsburgh Steelers coach was at Florida State's pro day Tuesday, and stopped Aguayo before a 50-yard kick to "ice" him with a timeout.
From 50 yards out, Aguayo was true on the delayed attempt.
"Tomlin called a timeout. They want to see you still kick it because you can test, see where the wind's blowing and everything, so they liked that, how I kicked it still. It was a 50-yarder," Aguayo said, according to ESPN.
Kicking for a gathering of scouts on his home campus isn't anything like what kicking for his livelihood will be at the pro level, but Aguayo appreciated Tomlin's attempt to simulate a game situation. And Tomlin wasn't the only Steelers representative to try to get in his head.
"The Steelers' (assistant coach) was trying to get in my head at the beginning. He was asking all these questions, but after I didn't pay attention to him, he walked off. See, those are the little things they want to see, if you get distracted, if you get flustered from ... ," Aguayo said. "They're like, 'Why are you going to hit five warmups? Why can't you hit three warmups?' All those little things and he's like, 'Oh, you're sticking by the book,' and I was like, 'Yes sir.'"
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes Aguayo will be drafted no later than the third round. Like any kicker, how well he kicks in pressure situations will have as much to do with his pro longevity as anything else.
Tomlin, to whatever limited extent he could Tuesday, tried to apply some.
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