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Texas Tech football fans will never forget Jonathan Garibay’s 62-yard field goal against Iowa State last season. But given the way he’s been pitching in training camp for the Dallas Cowboys, it seems unlikely we’ll see him continue to create heroic moments in the NFL.
Signed by the Cowboys in the spring as a rookie free agent, Garibay was in contention for the Cowboys’ kicking job this offseason. His opponent is Liram Hajrullah, a two-time All-Star in the Canadian Football League.
So far, neither kicker has done enough to make the Cowboys feel completely comfortable about the kick position. But there is no doubt that Hajrullah was the best kicker.
On Saturday, Garibay had perhaps the worst camping day ever. According to Michael Gehlkin Dallas Morning NewsGaribary, reporting live from Cowboys camp in Oxnard, Calif., was just 4-11 on field goal attempts, while Hajrullah was 8-11. Gehlkin went on to tweet that the race was a “getaway” for Hajrullah.
This comes after several bad days for Garibay early in camp. Garibay was just 4-8 on field goal attempts on Thursday, 0-2 on Aug. 1 during what the Cowboys call “mojo moments,” essentially high-pressure situations (though he was 6-8 overall on the day), and on July 30, Garibay It is reported that his chances were only 4-8.
But on Saturday, it looked like she was at the bottom for the Red Raiders. His misses included a terrific 33-yard field goal on an extra point attempt. The kick went up in the air and hilariously fell under the goal posts. But it’s no laughing matter for Tech fans hoping to see Garibay make the American team’s roster. (Warning, the video below from NBC’s New Scruggs in Dallas is not pretty.)
It’s amazing to see Garibay fight this hard. After all, he was one of the best quarterbacks in recent Texas Tech football history.
In two seasons for the Red Raiders, he converted 85.2 percent of his field goal attempts in college. That includes going 15-16 (93.8%) on his way to earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2021.
But now, perhaps, the Cowboys are headed for the cut before they even play their first preseason game. How poor he has been in training camp.
Maybe he’s struggling with self-confidence or the pressure to get a job just can’t get over him. But pressure is something NFL kickers have to get used to.
For what it’s worth, Hajrullah has a history of coming through big times as a professional. Most notably, he kicked the game-winning field goal for the Toronto Argonauts in the 2017 Gray Cup (the Canadian Football League’s version of the Super Bowl).
Hopefully, it’s not too late for Garibay to turn around, but that seems like a bit of a stretch considering how terrible he was. A once-stalwart Red Raider who kicked the most famous field goal in program history appears to be on the verge of realizing his NFL dream.
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