Former Northgate High School and Georgia State kicker, Wil Lutz, has re-signed with the Denver Broncos on a two-year $8.4 million deal to remain in Denver on Monday afternoon.
The same day, it was reported that Lutz agreed and signed a three year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars before ultimately deciding to return back to Denver for his second season with the organization.
Lutz spent his first seven seasons of professional football playing in New Orleans for the Saints before being traded to the Broncos in 2023 for a seventh round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
First free-agent change: Kicker Will Lutz, who agreed to terms earlier in the day with Jacksonville, changed his mind and is remaining in Denver. Broncos get back their kicker, Jaguars now need one. pic.twitter.com/g7joMDg2QP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
The Newnan-native, attended Northgate High School where he was the kicker and punter for the Vikings. Lutz earned letterman honors for his efforts on the football field in all four years of high school.
While the former Northgate kicker was recognized as a two-time all-county place-kicker by the Newnan Times-Herald, Lutz’s athletic ability also was evident on the pitch as he was an all-county soccer player.
After his playing days at Northgate, Lutz chose to attend Georgia State University where he was able to continue his kicking career. In his freshman season, Lutz was one of six freshmen to play for the Panthers as he was four-of-seven from field goals and was perfect in kicking extra points, going 18-for-18 in his first season of collegiate football.
The Panther kicker continued to improve season after season. In his sophomore year, Lutz made a 53-yard field goal on the road at no. 1 Alabama that was at the time a school record. He scored the second most points on the team that season with 49. Starting midway through his junior season, Lutz began to punt as well for the Panthers and averaged close to 40 yards a punt. Lutz scored 56 points in the season, which was the second-highest single season total in school history.
In his final year of college football, Lutz was nominated for the Ray Guy Award for the top punter in the nation and was two points short of owning the Georgia State record for most points in a season.
When his college career was all said and done, Lutz finished with the most points in Georgia State football history, scoring 183 points in his four seasons. The record was recently broken by Brandon Wright, Georgia State’s kicker for the next four years after Lutz’s departure.
Going into the NFL, Lutz went undrafted and signed to the Baltimore Ravens before he was released three months after.
Lutz found a home in New Orleans shortly after where he played the first seven years of his career before he was traded to the Denver Broncos ahead of the 2023 season.
In his NFL career, Lutz has made a name for himself after going undrafted. He is one of four professional kickers to score 800 points in his first 100 NFL games, joining the likes of some of the best in the business including Justin Tucker, Stephen Gostowski and Mason Crosby.
He earned Pro Bowl honors in the 2019 season with New Orleans after he kicked 89% from field goals for the Saints.
Since his arrival into the NFL in 2016, Lutz is third in highest point total among active professional kickers with 871 points. Lutz also ranks in the top three in both extra points made with 304 and highest extra-point percentage at 97.1% since his career in professional football began.
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