Blake R. Grupe (; born November 5, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Arkansas State Red Wolves The Arkansas State Red Wolves are the athletic teams of Arkansas State University. They are a member of the Sun Belt Conference in all sports except women's Ten-pin bowling, bowling, a sport not sponsored by that league, competing at the National ...

and the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

and was signed by the Saints as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

Early life

Blake Grupe was born on November 5, 1998. He attended

Smith-Cotton High School Smith-Cotton High School is a public high school in Sedalia, Missouri, in the United States. The school serves students in grades 9–12 in the Sedalia 200 School District. The current principal is Wade Norton. Athletic teams are known as the Tig ...

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 ...

, and was a three-sport athlete, playing soccer, baseball and football, although he did not begin playing football until his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

year. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, he was named all-state in both football and soccer, setting the school's records for single-season and career

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

s made. He committed to play

for the

College career

As a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

at Arkansas State in 2017, Grupe

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. The following year, he earned the starting placekicking job in week three and finished the season having converted 14 of 21 attempts, placing seventh in the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

. In 2019, Grupe made 19 of 22 field goal attempts and was named first-team all-conference as well as a semifinalist for the

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns ...

as best placekicker nationally; his 110 total points scored set a school record for kickers and was second-best in the conference, additionally being the 13th-best total in the United States. In 2020, Grupe went 11-of-18 on field goals and made 43

extra points The conversion, try (American football), also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, extra point, two-point conversion, or convert (Canadian football) is a gridiron football play that occurs immediately after a touchdown. The scoring team att ...

. In his final year at Arkansas State, 2021, he made 20 of 25 field goals and all but one of his 32 extra point attempts. He holds several school records, including career extra points made (162), career field goals made (64) and career points scored (354). Grupe transferred to Notre Dame for his final season of eligibility in 2022. He went 14-of-19 on field goals and made all 49 of his extra point attempts in his lone year with the team.

College statistics

Professional career

After going unselected in the

, Grupe was signed by the

as an

. In the first preseason game, he made the game-winning field goal against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He competed with veteran Wil Lutz for a spot on the team and won the position battle. In Week 3 of the 2023 season, Grupe missed a 46-yard go-ahead field goal against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, resulting in a Saints loss. In Week 5, Grupe was named

National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is a conference of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each h ...

Special Teams Player of the Week after completing four extra points, two 50+ yard field goals, and recording five

touchback In American football, a touchback is a ruling that is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line (i.e., in their end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to travel ...

s on seven kickoffs in a 34–0 win over the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. As a rookie, he converted all 40 extra point attempts and 30 of 37 field goal attempts. In the 2024 season, Grupe converted 31 of 33 extra point attempts and 27 of 31 field goal attempts.

NFL career statistics

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2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

!! NO , 17 , , 30 , , 37 , , 81.1 , , 0 , , 55 , , 40 , , 40 , , 100 , , 91 , , 64 , , 76 , , 130 , - style="text-align:center;" ! rowspan="2",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

!! NO , 17 , , 27 , , 31 , , 87.1 , , 0 , , 57 , , 31 , , 33 , , 93.9 , , 78 , , 63.8 , , 21 , , 112 , - ! colspan="2"
Total
!! 34 !! 57 !! 68 !! 83.8 !! 0 !! 57 !! 71 !! 73 !! 97.3 !! 169 !! 63.9 !! 97 !! 242

References

External links

New Orleans Saints bio

Arkansas State Red Wolves bio

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grupe, Blake 1998 births Living people American football placekickers Players of American football from Missouri Arkansas State Red Wolves football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players New Orleans Saints players American people of German descent