The Florida State Seminoles have already added a transfer long snapper and punter in recent days, and they completed the special teams trifecta today. Kicker Gabe Panikowski has decided to call Tallahassee home in 2026.
Panikowski (which rhymes with Janikowski, I’m just saying) is originally from San Diego, California. He did not record any statistics with Oklahoma State in 2025 as the Cowboys suffered through a brutal campaign that led to a coaching change.
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Prior to his arrival in Stillwater, though, Panikowski had one hell of a 2024 season for Idaho State. He was named the best non-FBS kicker in the nation and earned a First Team FCS All-American nod from three different voting groups. He successfully converted 44 of 47 PATs and went a perfect 15 of 15 on field goals with a long of 55 yards. He also had 38 kickoffs with 23 resulting in touchbacks.
Panikowski also visited Cal. The Seminoles may still elect to add another kicker to help with kickoffs.
From his OSU bio:
2024 Fred Mitchell Award (best non-FBS kicker)
2024 FCS First Team All-America (AFCA, Walter Camp, Sports Illustrated)
2024 FCS Second Team All-America (AP, Stats Perform)
2024 First Team All-Big Sky2024: (Junior at Idaho State): Cemented himself as one of the best kickers in the country, winning the Fred Mitchell Award as the nation’s top non-FBS collegiate kicker and FCS All-America honors on the AFCA, Walter Camp, Sports Illustrated, Associated Press and Stats Perform teams … Also earned first team All-Big Sky honors … In 12 games played, he converted 44 of 47 total place kicks and was a perfect 15-for-15 on field goals … His perfect field goal percentage tied for No. 1 in the FCS and was the highest number of made field goals without a miss in the FCS … Hit a 55-yard field goal against Northern Arizona to mark the second longest in the FCS all season and tie for the fourth longest in Idaho State history … Kicked a walk-off 24-yard field goal against Cal Poly to earn the Bengals’ first conference win of the season … Of his 15 field goals, three were from 20-29 yards, nine came from 30-39, one was in the 40-49 yard range and two came from more than 50 yards … Made at least one field goal in nine games and multiple kicks in three contests, including four at NAU, three against Western Oregon and two at Cal Poly … Also performed 38 of Idaho State’s 70 kickoffs on the year, totaling 2,419 yards for an average of 63.7 yards with 23 touchbacks … Recognized by the Big Sky Conference twice as player of the week.
2023: (Sophomore at Riverside City College): Played in 13 games and made 15 of 21 field goal attempts with a season long of 44 yards .. Hit 67 of 72 PAT attempts … Made at least one field goal in 11 games … Scored 112 points on the year
2022: (Freshman at Sac State): Played in 11 games as a kickoff specialist … Averaged 62.7 yards per kickoff with 17 touchbacks on 48 attempts … Had five touchbacks against Utah Tech in his first collegiate game … Credited with a tackle at Weber State.
High School: A 2021 graduate of Torrey Pines HS in San Diego … Named the Avocado League Kicker of the Year … A first team all-league selection and first team all-North County honoree as a kicker/punter … Made a 55-yard field goal as a junior for his career long … Never missed a PAT in his varsity career … Also competed in track and field, basketball, soccer and fencing … Spent the 2021 football season with the IMG Academy Post-Grad Football Program and reclassified to the 2022 class.
Personal: Son of Stan and Kris Panikowski … A diligent community volunteer … An adoption advocate who was adopted with his three siblings at the age of seven.
