GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Floridas kicking situation was the worst in the Southeastern Conference last season and among the least productive in the country.It was so inadequate that coach Jim McElwain held open tryouts -- in the middle of the season.After two more failed field goal attempts in the regular-season finale against rival Florida State, McElwain declared well get a kicker. And well get a good one.The 25th-ranked Gators may have gotten the best one available.Eddy Pineiro, a sophomore who attended ASA Community College in Miami last season but didnt play football, is expected to dramatically improve Floridas field-goal fortunes this fall. His first opportunity to kick in front of 90,000 will happen Saturday against UMass.Im excited, said Pineiro, who has made a number of 70-yard-plus kicks and put them on YouTube. I think people exaggerate (the pressure). But if you work on the same thing every single day, why cant you do it in a game? ... You should be able to put a blindfold on and kick it because its the same kick every single time. Its muscle memory.Pineiro makes it sound easy: see ball, kick ball.But Florida learned last season just how difficult a task kicking can be.The Gators missed five extra points and 10 field goals in 2015. They made just 7 of 17 field goals, a 41.2 percent success rate that ranked 127th out of 128 teams in the nation. McElwain used three different kickers, including a dental student added to the roster late in the year, but nothing fixed the problem.Seeing them go through those kicking struggles last year was pretty depressing, Pineiro said.McElwain tried just about everything while experienced junior Austin Hardin, who ended up making 5 of 14 attempts, kept struggling. He turned to Jorge Powell, but the walk-on injured a knee trying to make a tackle against LSU and missed the final seven games. That prompted McElwain to open things up to Floridas student body.More than 200 students responded to the open call, and dental student Neil MacInnes won the multistage kicking competition. Still, McElwain stuck with Hardin -- the Gators ended up going for it on fourth down 27 times -- while putting the full recruiting press on Pineiro.Pineiro eventually de-committed from Alabama and enrolled at Florida in January.Hes essentially been Floridas kicker since, even though hes never kicked in a game. Pineiro was a standout soccer player at Miami Sunset High School, so his first real action came in Floridas spring game, where he made all five extra points and three lengthy field goals.I didnt think people were going to scream out my name after an extra point, so that was pretty interesting, said Pineiro, who will wear No. 15, made famous in Gainesville by Tim Tebow.Pineiro wasnt perfect: He hit from 52, 46 and 56 yards, and missed from 53 and 52. He also had nine touchbacks on 10 kickoffs, so McElwain was clearly testing him.The coach hasnt stopped, either.McElwain challenges Pineiro at nearly every practice.Lately hes been putting the whole team around me while Im kicking my field goal, just screaming in my ear, throwing water in my face, trying to get me off-balance and stuff, Pineiro said. So far, Im like 4-for-4 on those, whatever you want to call them, pressure kicks. So hes happy about that.McElwain will be even happier if Pineiro makes them in games, something the Gators rarely did last season.I dont want to sit here and put all these high expectations on him, McElwain said. I mean, the guy hasnt kicked in a game yet, right? And yet all of a sudden, were ready to say this guy is the Golden Toe Award or whatever.At the same time, I do know this: He has the talent to do it, and I love the way he goes about his work.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org MLB Jerseys China . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Cheap NHL Jerseys . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. http://www.cheapcnjerseystousa.com/ . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. China Jerseys Authentic . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Wake Forest coach Danny Manning is ready to face No. 3 Villanova, even if hes fairly certain his Demon Deacons wont have a similar offensive outburst as they did to run past UTEP.John Collins scored a career-high 24 points and Bryant Crawford had 20 in Wake Forests 103-81 victory, the first time in eight years it surpassed the century mark in a game.Shots fell early and often as the Demon Deacons, 3-0 for the first time since 2013-14, took a double-digit lead early and were rarely pressed by UTEP (1-1). Next up, though, are the national champion Wildcats with a spot in the Charleston finals on the line.Were excited, Manning said. Its the chance to play, rightfully so, one of the teams that higher ranked in the country.And one that will do its best to ensure Wake Forest doesnt shoot almost 60 percent from the field as it did against UTEP (35 of 59, 59.3 percent).Its going to be a challenge, but its something we welcome, Manning said. Well see where were at.Wake Forest put things away with a torrid first half where it went 13 of 20 from behind the arc. Dinos Mitgolou had four 3-pointers while Austin Arians, Mitchell Wilbekin, Crawford and Keyshawn Woods each had two the first 20 minutes.I dont think we were close (defensively) on any of those shots, said UTEPs frustrated coach, Tim Floyd.UTEP (1-1) plays Western Michigan, which fell to Villanova in the eight-team tournaments first game, on Friday in the consolation round.The Demon Deacons led 63-44 lead at the break, the first time they had reached 60 points or more in half since the 2008-09 season when it accomplished that against UNC Wilmington. That was also the last game they finished with 100 points or more, defeating the Seahawks 120-88.Wake Forest couldnt quite gget that many, but did more than enough to move past UTEP.ddddddddddddCollins, at 6-foot-10, made nine of 10 shots -- all in the second half -- including several jams to break his previous high of 19 set last November against Bucknell.Mitgolou finished with 18 points and Keyshawn Woods 16 for Wake Forest. Dominic Artis led UTEP with 24 points.BIG PICTUREWake Forest wants to run and did so at will against the Miners. Things will get considerably tougher against Villanova, the national champions known for its in-your-face defense.UTEP had few answers to slow down the Deacons. Artis did his share, hitting three 3-pointers. The team, though was 5 of 14 from behind the arc with many of the misses triggering the Wake Forest transition game.CHANGING GEARSManning like his teams outside touch early on. But at halftime, he stressed to his players about looking for the Deacons big men, Collins and Mitgolou down low and give them touches. The result was Collins big performance, something the team will look to duplicate against Villanova. Its going to tell us where we are and what we need to do, Crawford said.LACKING DEFENSEUTEP coach Tim Floyd had nothing good to say about his teams defense. He said his team did not rebound well or slow Wake Forests transition game. Evidence? We shot 60 percent (18 of 30) in the first half were down 19, Floyd said.UP NEXTWake Forest will face No. 3 Villanova on Friday with the winner advancing to Sunday nights championship game.UTEP will take on Western Michigan on Friday in the consolation round.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '