TAMPA, Fla. -- Football is a team sport, but when the kicker has his number called, the spotlight is all on him.
"Yeah, you try to have the mindset that you're gonna try to do your best every time you're out there on that field, and you just keep going back to that mindset," USF junior kicker Nico Gramatica said.
Gramatica thrives under pressure. Last season, he nailed 18 field goals for the Bulls.
"When I go out there on that field I just start breathing and have one or two mental notes and it's just to stay through the ball and that's it. I don't try to overthink about anything," Nico Gramatica said.
That mindset runs in the family. Younger brother Gaston is following in Nico's footsteps. He is an incoming freshman at USF, and he is also a kicker.
"Having Nico here is such a help because there's a lot of questions I had when I came here, and having my best friend to be able to answer them, it just made the transition super smooth and it's been awesome," Gaston Gramatica said.
Nico and Gaston were both heavily recruited out of high school, and Nico was the No. 1 kicker in his recruiting class, so they can handle the pressure of kicking in front of tens of thousands of fans.
That is because they grew up training with their father, Martin Gramatica, who kicked in front of millions of fans during his nine-year NFL career that included six seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"I'm super proud of their hard work because they didn't get there just on their last name," Martin Gramatica said. "They got there because of their hard work, and for them to kick at Raymond James Stadium where I played, it's incredible."
After Martin retired, he raised his family in Tampa. Nico and Gaston both played football and soccer at Cambridge Christian School, and his youngest child, Emme, is in seventh grade. She plays flag football and soccer, and Martin is her soccer coach.
"I like soccer more because I've always grown up playing soccer, and it's really big in my household because my dad played it when he was in Argentina. So I've always loved soccer and always dreamed of playing at the higher levels," Emme Gramatica said.
It's time Martin cherishes.
"Obviously, to spend every second on the field with my daughter, I can't ask for anything more because at the end of the day we all look back and think we didn't spend enough time with our kids. The sports memories, being on the field coaching her, those are memories that we'll never forget," Martin Gramatica said.
This is a family of athletes. Their mom played tennis at USF, and their uncle Santiago also kicked for the Bulls.
Nico, Gaston and Emme know how lucky they are to learn from an NFL kicker.
"I remember one drill he used to have us do is we would have to sprint 10 yards a couple times right before you kick, so you're breathing heavy, your heart is racing, and he's like, 'You gotta breathe. This is what big-pressure kicks feel like, so just breathe'," Gaston said.
Added Nico, "He's been through it. He's kicked big kicks. He's also missed kicks as well, so he can be there for me when I make or miss kicks. So it's awesome that he's on my side."
The bloodlines of this kicking family will benefit the Bulls for years to come.