Florida State recruit: Oklahoma State kicker Gabe Panikowski commits, will transfer to FSU
The Florida State Seminoles have already added a long snapper and a punter in recent days, and they completed the special teams trifecta today. Kicker Gabe Panikowski has decided to call Tallahassee home in 2026.
Panikowski (pronounced Janikowski, by the way) hails from San Diego, California. He didn’t record stats with Oklahoma State in 2025 as the Cowboys suffered through a brutal campaign that led to a coaching change.
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Before his arrival in Stillwater, however, Panikowski had one season in the 2024 season at Idaho State. He was named the top non-FBS kicker in the nation and earned First Team FCS All-American honors in three separate polls. 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 and 23 of them went for touchbacks.
Panikowski also visited Cal. The Seminoles may choose to add another kicker to help with kicking.
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): He established himself as one of the best kickers in the country, winning the Fred Mitchell Award as the nation’s top non-FBS kicker and FCS All-America honors from the AFCA, Walter Camp, Sports Illustrated, Associated Press and Stats Perform teams … Also earned first-team All-Big Sky honors … 15-for-15 on field goals … His field goal percentage tied for No. 1 in the FCS and had the most field goals made without a miss in the FCS … Kicked a 55-yard field goal against Northern Arizona to mark the second-longest in the FCS all season and tied for the fourth-longest in Idaho State history … The season … Of his 15 field goals, three from 20-29 yards, nine from 30-39, one from 10 yards 40-49 with two from over 50 yards … Made at least one field goal in nine games and had multiple kicks in three contests, including four at NAU, three against Western Oregon and 0 at Cackhos of I-Polyda at State 38 on the year, totaling 2,419 yards with a 63.7-yard average and 23 touchdowns … Two-time Big Sky Conference honoree as player of the week.
2023: (Sophomore at Riverside City College): Played in 13 games and made 15 of 21 field goal attempts for a season long 44 yards.. Hit 67 of 72 PAT attempts … Scored 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 kick returner … Averaged 62.7 yards per kick with 17 touchdowns on 48 attempts … Had five touchdowns against Utah Tech in his debut game … Set for tackles record at Weber State.
High school: 2021 graduate of Torrey Pines HS in San Diego … Named Avocado League Kicker of the Year … First-team all-league and first-team honoree in North County as a kicker/punter … Made a 55-yard field goal as a junior in his longest career … 2021 football season with the IMG Academy Post-Grad Football program and reclassified in the 2022 class.
Personal: Son of Stan and Kris Panikowski … Active community volunteer … Adoption attorney adopted with three siblings at age seven.
