COLLEGE STATION – David Olano is a superstitious man.
He needs a strawberry-banana smoothie before each game. His right sock goes on before his left, and his right cleat goes on before his left. He tucks his shoelaces into his cleats. If they’re not tucked in, he says he will go insane.
It’s fair to guess those laces were tucked in perfectly during Saturday’s 34-7 victory over Arkansas at Kyle Field.
“Coming out here every Saturday, I still get chills and goosebumps every time I run out,” said Olano, Texas A&M’s kicker.
A senior transfer from Illinois, Olano nailed two field goals of 50-plus yards, including a 57-yarder at the end of the first half that electrified the Aggies’ sideline like few plays can.
Olano played well over the first month of the season, but the game against the Razorbacks showed the entire conference the difference-maker he can be for the Aggies this season.
“I love David Olano,” defensive lineman Landon Rink said. “You know ‘The Avengers’ meme where it’s like ‘We have a Hulk?’ It’s like, we have a David Olano.”
And like any superhero, Olano has a great origin story.
Olano grew up in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Ill., and never watched football. His family loved soccer. He watched European matches on weekend mornings. That’s what he and his oldest brother, Pablo, played in high school, at least through Olano’s sophomore year, which was the last year he could play with his brother.
By then, Olano didn’t want to play soccer anymore, but he played that last season before exploring other options.
“You can look at me, I wasn’t gifted enough to shoot a basketball or hit a baseball,” said Olano, who is listed at 5-foot-11 and 177 pounds. “I had one talent, and that was my contact with the ball.”
But he didn’t immediately become a kicker. He first played wide receiver before moving to kicker, a position he says he didn’t really know existed before he started playing the sport.
Two years later, Olano was playing for the Fighting Illini. He started as a sophomore and junior, going 37-for-43 on field goals and missing just one PAT.
Olano then entered the transfer portal and joined the Aggies. When asked why he joined the program, he responded, “Why not?” before citing the community’s passion for football as a major reason.
But being a starter wasn’t guaranteed, especially after he dealt with an injury in the spring and true freshman Asher Murray performed well in his absence.
That led to a fall camp competition. Coach Mike Elko said it was tight because both players were “phenomenal” in the lead-up to the season. Olano relished the battle and has nothing but praise for Murray, whom he describes as “a stud,” “money” and “nails.”
“You could rest and kick your feet up when you get to A&M in my spot, being the transfer, having played at Illinois,” Olano said. “But it was awesome to compete with him. I think he pushes me, not only in fall camp, but still to this day, he pushes me every day, and I love that for him. He’s got such a bright future, and it was awesome to go neck and neck with him.”
Through the first five games of the year, Olano has made Elko’s decision to bring him in through the transfer portal and give him the starting role look wise. Olano is 7-for-7 on field goals and perfect on PATs.
Saturday’s 57-yard field goal was the longest by a Texas A&M player since 1999.
Olano’s success – and his teammates’ confidence in him – could have a major impact on Texas A&M the rest of the season, especially considering the team’s kicking situation in 2025.
Randy Bond made 77.6% of his field goal attempts from 2022 to 2024 before a 2025 season defined by struggles. He went 12-for-19 (63.2%) on field goals, with backup Jared Zirkel kicking some at the end of the season. Zirkel went 3-for-6 in the final three games.
Elko said there were times last season when the team executed a two-minute drive well but couldn’t capitalize because of a missed field goal. Meanwhile, the offense’s two-minute drill against the Razorbacks this past weekend wasn’t great, he noted, but Olano was able to make up for that.
“It’s a huge weapon to have for sure,” Elko said.
Elko will use that weapon going forward. Olano said his pre-kick routine for field goals starts on third down. He stops practicing, takes deep breaths and remembers why he is here.
Then, if it moves to fourth down, he heads onto the field for a situation he never could have imagined a decade ago.
“Who would have thought we would have gone from playing soccer to playing in Kyle Field in front of 100,000 people?” Olano said. “I mean, it’s crazy.”
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This article originally published at Texas A&M’s David Olano has quirky rituals and a 57-yard leg. Here’s how he got here.
