José Borregales Explained

José Borregales
Birth Date:15 December 1997
Birth Place:Caracas, Venezuela
Position:Placekicker
Height Ft:5
Height In:10
Weight Lb:185
High School:Booker T. Washington
(Miami, Florida)
College:FIU (2016–19)
Miami (FL) (2020)
Undraftedyear:2021
Pastteams:
Highlights:

José Borregales (born 15 December 1997) is a Venezuelan American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida International and the University of Miami.

High school career

Borregales attended Booker T. Washington Senior High School and was named a Florida Class 4A first-team selection. He was also named a First-team All Dade selection and a 2015 Kohl's All-American honorable mention. During his high school career, Borregales converted 13 of 14 field goals and 48 of 51 extra points. He committed to Florida International University to play college football.[1]

College career

2016–2019

Borregales redshirted his first year at Florida International University. In 2017, he served as the team's starting kicker. During the 2017 season he connected on 15 of 18 field goals and went 40 for 40 on extra points. In 2018, he finished the season with 14 of 18 field goals and 54 of 55 extra points. Also in 2018, he was finalist for the Lou Groza Award as the nation's best college kicker.[2] However, he fell short of Andre Szmyt in voting. In his final season at FIU, he finished with 21 of 29 field goals and converted all 40 extra point attempts.

2020

After graduating from FIU with a bachelor's degree in 2020, Borregales continued his football kicking career at the University of Miami, as a graduate student.[3] [4] [5] At Miami, he went for 18 of 20 on field goal attempts and went for a perfect 35–35 on extra points. During a game with UAB, he kicked a field goal from 25 yards out. He was named ACC Specialist of the week after he went for 4 of 4 on field goals in a win against the top 20 ranked Louisville Cardinals. During games against Florida State and Clemson he hit field goals from 30 and 42 yards out. In a game against Pittsburgh, he made a field goal from 37 yards out. Next week against Virginia he made both field goals from 32 and 20 yards. He drilled 3 field goals in a come from behind win against NC State and made 2 field goals which were from 40 and 42 yards in a win against Virginia. He hit field goals from 52 and 32 yards during a game against Duke. He also hit a 47-yard field goal in his lone attempt against North Carolina. He was named a finalist for the Lou Groza award on 22 December 2020.[6] [7] [8] [9] Borregales was also invited to the 2021 Senior Bowl.[10] [11] On 23 December 2020, Borregales announced he will declare for the 2021 NFL draft and would still be able to play in his team's bowl game.[12] On 1 May, after going undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft, Borregales signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Statistics

College statistics
YearSchoolXPMXPAFGMFGAFG%Pts
2016FIU
2017FIU4040151883.385
2018FIU5455141973.796
2019FIU3739212972.4100
2020Miami373720229197

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Borregales signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent on 13 May 2021.[13] He was waived on 6 September 2021, and re-signed to the practice squad.

After the Buccaneers were eliminated in the Divisional Round of the 2021 playoffs, Borregales signed a reserve/future contract on 24 January 2022.[14] He was waived on 30 August 2022.[15]

Orlando Guardians

On 18 November 2022, Borregales was drafted by the Orlando Guardians of the XFL.[16] The Guardians folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[17]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On 22 January 2024, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed Borregales.[18] He was released on 14 May.[19]

Personal life

Borregales was born in Caracas, Venezuela and immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six. He is the third Venezuelan born player to make it to the NFL.[20] His brother Andres “El Borrego 2.0”, succeeded him as Miami's kicker after his departure to the NFL.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FIU gets commitment from Booker T kicker Jose Borregales | High School Sports Blog. miamiherald.typepad.com. 29 December 2020.
  2. Web site: Borregales Named Lou Groza Award Semifinalist - FIU Athletics. fiusports.com. 29 December 2020.
  3. Web site: 247sports.com/college/miami/Article/FIU-kicker-Jose-Borregales-transferring-to-Miami-Hurricanes-141842352/. 247sports.com. 29 December 2020.
  4. Web site: FIU Kicker Jose Borregales transferring to Miami. 305Sports. 29 December 2020.
  5. Web site: FIU Kicker Jose Borregales Joins Miami as Grad Transfer. State of The U. 29 December 2020.
  6. Web site: Borregales Named Groza Award Finalist – University of Miami Athletics. miamihurricanes.com. 29 December 2020.
  7. Web site: 2020 Finalists | PB Sports Commission. Lou Groza. 29 December 2020.
  8. Web site: Miami Hurricanes 2020 Senior Spotlight: Jose Borregales. State of The U. 29 December 2020.
  9. Web site: Miami Hurricanes K Borregales, P Hedley finalists for National Awards. State of The U. 29 December 2020.
  10. Web site: Accepted Invites. Senior Bowl.
  11. Web site: K Jose Borregales earns Senior Bowl invitation. 247Sports.
  12. Web site: Hurricanes’ Jose Borregales declares for draft, will kick in bowl game. David. Furones. sun-sentinel.com.
  13. Web site: Bucs Sign Eight Undrafted Free Agents. Smith, Scott. Buccaneers.com. 13 May 2021.
  14. Web site: Bucs Retain 10 Practice Squad Players with Futures Contracts. Buccaneers.com. 24 January 2022. 24 January 2022. Scott. Smith.
  15. Web site: Tyler Johnson Among Cuts as Bucs Get to 53. Smith, Scott. Buccaneers.com. 30 August 2022.
  16. Web site: 18 November 2022 . Rosters for all eight XFL teams: Full draft results and where Vic Beasley, Martavis Bryant landed . 30 December 2022 . ESPN.com . en.
  17. Web site: Seifert . Kevin . 1 January 2024 . Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches . 15 January 2024 . ESPN.com.
  18. Web site: Transactions - Football Player Trades and Signings . 23 January 2024 . CFL.ca . en.
  19. Web site: Transactions - Football Player Trades and Signings . 2024-05-16 . CFL.ca . en.
  20. News: 12 January 2020 . Ex-FIU kicker Jose Borregales who taunted Miami transfers to school . 29 December 2020 . USA Today. Associated Press.
  21. Web site: 16 December 2020 . Andres Borregales . 24 August 2022 . University of Miami Athletics . en-US.