New Patriots kicker Andres Borregales idolized Adam Vinatieri growing up
The Patriots drafted Miami kicker Andres Borregales in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and the 23-year-old doesn't sound too worried about kicking in the finnicky New England weather.
Why? Because he's modeled his game off Patriots legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri, who had a knack for making clutch kicks in the worst conditions. Even after spending the last four years in humid Miami, Borregales is confident he can handle the cold in New England.
"All my life I looked up to Adam Vinatieri. Legend, honestly. All those kicks in the snow, and clutch kicks in the snow, actually. I can't wait to experience that," Borregales said Saturday after being drafted by the Patriots. "I know a lot of people thought that obviously, being from Miami, I can't handle the cold, but I think I can prove people wrong about that."
Borregales was one of the top kickers available this year, and will now compete with John Parker Romo for New England's kicking duties in training camp. He'll bring a solid resume to New England and the NFL.
Who is Andres Borregales?
Borregales was the first kicker drafted in 2025 -- taken 182nd overall -- after he earned First-Team All-ACC honors in each of the last two seasons for the Hurricanes. The Venezuela native was a four-year starter at Miami, and hit 74 of his 86 field-goal attempts (86 percent) for his career. He was 18-for-19 in 2024 and connected on 40 of his 45 field goal attempts the last two seasons.
On the rare occasion he did miss, Borregales channeled his inner-goldfish and moved on quickly.
"Really, it just comes down to short-term memory. If you miss one, OK, so be it, on to the next, and just continue that streak," he said. "Even if it is a game winning kick, celebrate for a time because you got to enjoy the good times too. The very next day, now it's time to get back to work because you never know what comes in the future.
As a kicker, I had this saying. It's a, 'one shot, one kill' mentality. You get one shot just to make a field goal," he added.
Borregales set a school record at the U with 405 points for his career. Now we'll see if that success translates to the NFL level, in a place where the weather can get real iffy late in the season.
Kicking field goals runs in Borregales' family. His brother, Jose, won the Lou Groza Award while with Miami in 2020, which is given to college football's top kicker. Jose spent time on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad in 2021.
