Pitt Position Preview: A Kicking Battle to Replace Ben Sauls

For the past three years, there was never a worry when kicker Ben Sauls was called upon for Pitt. He was a calming presence and nearly automatic points for the Panthers.

During his final three seasons as the primary kicker, Sauls never missed an extra point. He nailed 21-of-24 field-goal attempts in 2024, including 6-of-7 from 50-plus. He was consistent and had the leg to make a deep field goal, giving Pitt some comfortability once past mid-field.

The days of Sauls are gone, which means ushering in a new kicker. The standards are higher than ever to be a Pitt kicker and there are two primary players vying for that spot and a third trying to join the party.

“There’s a big kicker question with Ben Sauls leaving. We got a kicking battle on,” Pat Narduzzi said at the end of spring camp.

James London was brought in out of the transfer portal from Murray State. He was brought in to challenge for the starting position after earning First Team All-MVFC and All-American honorable mention honors last season. He connected on 14-of-19 field goals, with a long of 55 yards. He converted on seven field goals of 50-plus.

London has the leg strength to be a valuable kicker from deep, but what about his consistency?

That was a question that came up in the spring. There was some inconsistency early on in spring camp as London adjusted to a new program and kicking at Acrisure Stadium.

In the spring game, London missed both of his field-goal attempts from 33 and 42 yards. He did hit on both extra-point tries.

With London unable to come in and solidify the early running for the starting job, that opened up room for Sam Carpenter.

Carpenter enters his redshirt sophomore season after serving as the backup to Sauls last year. Carpenter was successful on his two in-game extra-point attempts so far in his career.

Pitt kicker Sam Carpenter looks on at his field goal attempt in the spring game. April 12, 2025 — Ed Thompson / PSN

Narduzzi and others on the staff were pleased with his development in the spring and Carpenter capped off camp in the Blue-Gold game by connecting on a 29-yarder and converting both extra-point attempts.

Along with London and Carpenter, Pitt added walk-on true freshman Trey Butkowski to the kicking room. Last year, he earned First Team All-Conference honors, while setting the school record for the longest made field goal at 58 yards for Lake Nona in Florida. Kohl’s Kicking ranked him the No. 9 kicker in the Class of 2025.

There’s a chance that all three kickers could get some time if there’s not a clear-cut starter assigned by the end of training camp. London and Carpenter are the two frontrunners with Butkowski a distant third, but things could change as camp progresses.

Pitt will have its first kicking competition since the 2022 training camp when Sauls took over the starting role from incumbent Sam Scarton.

In terms of experience, Pitt’s punting role will be once again held by Caleb Junko. The redshirt junior saw overall improvement in consistency from a rough 2023 season to 2024.

He played in all 13 games a year ago, averaging 43.7 yards on 58 punts. He placed 16 inside the 20-yard line and 14 resulted in fair catches. His season-long cam against Louisville of 67 yards.

Behind Junko in the punting room will be redshirt junior Cade Dowd and freshman Kaemon Tijerina.