After USC redshirt senior safety Bishop Fitzgerald intercepted a Michigan pass as the third quarter wound down, now-No. 20 USC football had the chance to make a big statement and all but secure a massive home victory with a score.

But the Jayden Maiava- and King Miller-led offense, which had been mostly dominant against the now-No. 21 Wolverines, stalled out at the Michigan 37-yard line, bringing an unusual hero to the plate for not only one of the biggest but also one of the longest kicks of his career. Enter redshirt freshman Ryon Sayeri.

Sayeri said the week after that, the kick was the worst he had hit that day, which led to him watching the ball in the air longer than he normally would have. But the ugly looking line drive stayed up and was good for 54 yards, putting USC up by three scores in a game it would later win 31-13 as the team swarmed the kicker in triumph.

“That was by far the worst ball I hit in, like, four weeks,” Sayeri said in a post-practice news conference Oct. 15, days after the Michigan game. “But it gives me a little confidence boost. If that’s my worst ball, and I’m still at 54, then so be it.”

A ‘delivery man’ mentality

After that impressive display, Sayeri has quickly developed into one of USC’s breakout stars, even at his typically low-key position. While the 54-yarder is his longest field goal so far, Sayeri has been about as consistent as it gets, making 14-of-15 field goal tries, all 34 extra-point attempts, and only kicking two of 60 kickoffs out of bounds.

Sayeri is currently tied for third in the Big Ten in made field goals and has the second-highest make percentage at 93.3%. He won Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after Saturday’s win over Nebraska, which saw him knock down another two field goals, including a 49-yarder.

“The guy’s been incredible for us all year. He just doesn’t miss very often,” said Head Coach Lincoln Riley after Saturday’s win. “He doesn’t miss in practice. He doesn’t miss in games. He’s just the same steady guy the whole way through.”

Sayeri, a walk-on who was expected to be USC’s backup before UNLV transfer sophomore kicker Caden Chittenden sustained a hamstring injury in the offseason, hasn’t looked at all shaken by the pressure eight games into the season, keeping a level head and expecting to make every kick.

“The delivery man doesn’t celebrate when he makes deliveries because it’s his job … I got to go out there, make kicks. Don’t need to celebrate. Don’t need to do anything, because my only job here is to make kicks and hit kickoffs,” Sayeri said after the Nebraska game. “In fact, there is no[t] really a lot of energy when I go out there.” 

Rain, road games don’t bother Sayeri

Of his 14 field goal makes, three came during a rainy, lightning-filled day in South Bend, Indiana, and the two against Nebraska came on a cold night at Memorial Stadium. But Sayeri said the conditions hardly affect him, saying the cold may affect his kicks by just one or two yards.

“You can’t let it get in your head, really. Rain doesn’t affect anything,” Sayeri said Oct. 15. “Still snap, hold and kick.”

Sayeri’s only missed field goal this season was a near make as it hit off the uprights during a 33-17 win over Purdue — a game where he made another four 3-pointers to make up for it. 

Including the Purdue game, all of Sayeri’s multi-field goal games have come on the road, including 10 of his 14 made attempts. Sayeri said his approach to the mental game is to not approach it at all, instead choosing to just kick the ball and rely on practice, which he said is easier on the road despite a more volatile crowd.

“I love road games. I feel like it makes me kick better, playing road games, because I feel like the fans chirping just helps me lock in more,” Sayeri said Oct. 15. “The more pressure there is, the easier I just fall back on my training.”

Team confidence in Sayeri ‘off the charts’

After only getting into one game as a true freshman in 2024 for a 57-yard punt in USC’s bowl win over Texas A&M, Sayeri said he thought he would be nervous for his first field goal try as the starting kicker this season. But, like approaching weather conditions or a road game, he said the nerves never set in.

Sayeri attributed some of his success to his relationship with last year’s starting kicker, Michael Lantz, who made 14-of-21 field goal tries, and his ability to pick up the details of the then-redshirt senior kicker’s routine. He also called redshirt senior long snapper Hank Pepper “one of the best in the nation” and said his confidence in him was part of what inspires his own confidence. 

“I’m beyond proud of him,” Pepper said on Trojans Live on Oct. 27. “I just love being around him. He’s a great teammate, a great person. He does so much for this team, and it’s been great to see him ball out.”

While Riley said he has had many good kickers in his nearly 20 years of coaching, he praised Sayeri’s mentality and consistency as a young player after Saturday’s game. 

“His poise and presence, the confidence that he has, the confidence our whole team has in him, is off the charts right now,” Riley said. “He’s one of the biggest stories of our team right now.”

Sayeri won’t be content anytime soon. While he said he has gotten up to 58 yards in practice, he theorized Oct. 15 that one of his kicks during practice would have been good from roughly 70 yards, which would tie the NCAA’s all-time record.