There are plenty of stories about Andy Borregales coming up clutch.

His former coaches, from high school through four years at the University of Miami, can recall a handful of instances off the top of their head where the New England Patriots' sixth-round draft pick was the hero in a game.

But when asked about a time when Borregales' mentality under pressure stood out to him, Manny Diaz, former Hurricanes head coach, thinks of a time in 2021 where the true freshman came up short.

Miami had the ball back after scoring two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Now down just two points to the University of Virginia, with over five minutes remaining, the Hurricanes drove the ball into Cavalier territory, setting their kicker up for a game-winning, 33-yard field goal on the final play.

Borregales banged the ball off the upright and it bounced right back towards him as time expired.

"For a young guy, that was a pretty harsh introduction to the ups and downs of the hero world of kicking," said Diaz, now the head coach at Duke University.

"I remember calling him on the phone after the game that night and telling him he would have many opportunities in his career to be back in that situation and perform with a different outcome. That has certainly proven to be true."

Borregales went on to finish 17-for-21 on field goals that season and was perfect on 45 extra point attempts, serving as Miami's primary placekicker in all 12 games.

Though Diaz left Miami after that 2021 season, Hurricanes special teams coordinator Danny Kalter was part of Borregales' entire college football journey.

Another constant, by all accounts, was a confidence that propelled Borregales to do everything he said he would.

A lifelong Miami fan, he knew he wanted to be a Hurricane, and when Borregales achieved that goal, he set his sights on the next one. Borregales was not shy about wanting to be the highest-drafted specialist in his draft class, and for four years, he prepared every single day to make that happen.

"Coming here as a little, bubbly kid just running around his junior and senior year of high school, always wanting to be a Miami Hurricane, and then making that dream come true has been remarkable to see," Kalter said.

"He set out his goals and dreams and has achieved every one of them. He's the type of kid that has always been so vocal about what his vision for himself is, and when you're like that you can often open yourself up to disappointment, especially at this high of a level. But to see him achieve more than anyone could have expected through his hard work, that's what I think of when I think of Andy. The little kid running around our practices saying how he wanted to be the best kicker to come to Miami, starting four years, setting the all-time points record which will never be broken, and being the top kicker selected in the draft. That's what stands out to me."

Work Ethic Runs in the Family

The kicking position may be a lonely one, but not for Borregales.

When the call came from New England making him the No. 182 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, video from his draft party gave a glimpse at one person there with him every step up the way.

Borregales hangs up the phone and puts on a fitted, navy Patriots hat. With cheers erupting from the room full of people there to celebrate with him, he digs his head into the shoulder of his older brother, Jose.

As evidenced by the emotional embrace, only those two truly knew what it took to get there.

"Seeing (Jose) go through the whole ordeal, he learned it wasn't easy," said Hector Clavijo III, Borregales' coach at Champagnat Catholic High School.

"His brother was an All-American and won the Lou Groza Award. And Jose got a tryout and went to camp, but never made it to one NFL game. Andrews saw how difficult it really was."

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Borregales' family immigrated to Doral, Florida. when he was 1 year old.

Both brothers grew up playing soccer and football in the melting pot of culture that exists in the greater Miami area, shaping them as both athletes and people.

Eventually, Borregales decided to focus solely on football, playing every position he could.

"His background and his family have a lot to do with his work ethic and mentality as a teammate, but I think the city of Miami also has a lot to do with that," Kalter said of Borregales.

"The more you talk to him, you see he's really proud of his Venezuelan heritage, but he's super proud to say he's from Miami, too. Seeing his parents come here and their hard work to provide for him and his siblings, you're forced into that melting pot where if you don't assimilate to that, and if you're not comfortable with a lot of other people, it's hard to make it down here and be successful."

With hardworking, loyal parents, that mentality was passed down to their sons. But despite humble beginnings, the brothers picked up fierce competitiveness in Miami that resulted in a certain swagger.

Jose went on to kick four years at Florida International University, showing his younger brother the path to becoming a college kicker.

Borregales, meanwhile, was cementing himself as one of the best high school kickers in the country.

Diaz' staff at Miami took notice of the talent in their own backyard.

"We had a really good relationship with the Borregales family through Andy's recruitment, and after a year of recruiting him, Jose graduated and had one year (of eligibility) left so he actually transferred as a grad student from FIU to play at Miami that last year," Kalter said.

"It was really successful with (Jose) winning the Lou Groza award and being an All-American, and then Andy signed right after that. It was kind of a whirlwind from there."

Diaz recalls Borregales having a phenomenal performance at one of Miami's summertime kicking camps and offering him soon after.

Being a Hurricane was Borregales' dream, and he verbally committed thereafter. Jose then transferred to warm up the job awaiting his little brother in Coral Gables before passing the torch.

"Jose had an outstanding senior year with us, and the idea that there was a Borregales kicking in Miami for five years straight was a pretty neat thing," Diaz said. "They're a wonderful family, great people, and I wasn't surprised to see the success he had after I left."

With plans to play for the Hurricanes already in place, Borregales transferred to Champagnat Catholic High School for his senior year of high school in 2020. The switch would allow him to graduate early and contend for a Florida Class 2A state title.

Champagnat Catholic had just won two out of four state championship appearances, and under Clavijo, was looking to go back-to-back.

At the time, Clavijo's squad had an underclassman kicker after years of struggling at the position, and Borregales served as a great mentor. The top recruit took care of kickoffs and longer field goals, while the younger player gained experience with extra points.

"At that point, Andy didn't really have anything to prove, so he was a really great teammate and allowed the other kid to develop," Clavijo said.

"It was huge for us and just ended up being a great fit the entire season. We all understood the business and what he came here for. He wanted the opportunity to graduate early and win another state championship so we all had similar goals in mind, but sometimes, when you're dealing with a high-profile guy like that, there is a little bit of a diva personality. But him, he just wanted to win."

Borregales got what he wanted.

The Class 2A state championship ended up being scheduled at Florida State University on National Signing Day. Champagnat Catholic took over their hotel lobby in Tallahassee as four members of the football team committed to Division I programs.

Later on that day, Borregales helped his and Clavijo's team to a second consecutive title.

"It was a special time because my brother, who was my defensive coordinator, had passed away that summer," Clavijo said.

"He died in a car accident, so the whole season was very emotional, but it all ended the right way. With signing day, and with us winning another state championship that same day, it was very special. The atmosphere was amazing playing at FSU and everything aligned itself."

With that chapter finished, Borregales went on to Miami to begin his freshman year.

Around the same time, Jose signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent, was waived, and then re-signed to the practice squad where he spent the 2021 season.

Jose was waived again in August of 2022 without the chance to kick in the NFL.

"His older brother was extremely talented and in my opinion was deserving of a better chance than the one he got in the NFL, and I know that means a lot to Andres, it means a lot to him for the family, not just for his own success, but he knows Jose really should have had a better shot than what he was given in that league," Diaz said.

"I would never speak for him, but I'm sure Andres was aware of just how difficult it is, how competitive it is, and how much politics goes into it at that level. It's about finding the right spot at the right time with the right situation."

With no kicker on the Patriots' roster at the time of the 2025 NFL Draft and a history of excellent specialists, New England appears to be a perfect situation – even in the cold.

"With the cold, I think he's going to have a harder time shoveling the (expletive) snow out of his driveway than he is kicking in the cold," Kalter said.

"He's going to be fine and he's preparing for it. I promise you right now, that narrative is going to fuel him even more. He's going to crave that snowy, classic New England game. And he'll thrive in it."

The It Factor

Within an hour of hearing his name called in the draft, Borregales had a call with the New England media and was asked about those cold weather concerns.

Borregales couldn't have given a better answer, sharing that he grew up watching Patriots legend Adam Vinatieri make Super Bowl winning kicks in the snow. He, too, hoped to experience iconic moments like that of his own.

It was exactly what fans wanted to hear, but Kalter knows the sentiment was genuine.

"Typically, that might be a bulls* answer, but Andy has no bulls*," Kalter said.

"That's so typical of him and exactly what I would expect him to say. And I'll tell you, to my grave, I believe him from the bottom of my heart.

Everything Kalter has seen to this point makes him bullish on Borregales.

Since his recruitment, what stuck out most to both Kalter and Diaz was an aura that made Borregales the best kicker in the country the last four years.

For those who don't know him well, that could come off as arrogance, but those close to Borregales describe him as the ultimate teammate. One of the guys who is just as likely to be best friends with the punter as he is a starting defensive back or offensive lineman. One who is celebrating a big defensive stop or a touchdown on the sideline before running out to kick the extra point.

His teammates respond well to his energy, and that success fuels his fire.

"He just has competitive greatness to him, which is what all the great ones have," Diaz said.

"We're in an era where a lot of these guys are just robots of sorts, trained up by really talented kicking coaches, but they may not have what it takes to really be special. But Andy was just different from the beginning."

Kalter always believed in Borregales' NFL goals from a mindset perspective, but that confidence intensified in the kicker's junior year.

Coming into Miami at 140 pounds, Borregales knew he had to gain weight to play at the next level.

Kalter saw Borregales really buying into the nutrition side of things, and policing himself on the workload required to set the Hurricanes up for success on any given Saturday.

By the time he played his last game at Miami, Borregales was up to 205 pounds.

"There's going to be a lot of natural leg strength that occurs over the course of gaining 60 pounds over four years, but I think the biggest place for growth with him over his time in college that sets him apart just goes back the mentality piece," Kalter said.

"His ability to have a short-term memory, and not just a short-term memory, but his ability to self-correct very quickly whether it was a bad kick or a bad kick off. Even a ball that goes through the uprights but isn't what he calls his "A ball," having the ability to say, 'Hey, I left my heel up a little there,' when he gets back to the sideline, but then two seconds later it's out of his mind and on to the next one. His maturation and ability to self-assess and move on to the next one – that's what shows his growth to me."

Confidence from Composure

The numbers speak for themselves, with Borregales hitting 86% (74-of-86 of his field goal attempts over four seasons with the Hurricanes. He made 99.5% (183-of-184) extra point attempts.

The statistics only told half the story, though.

How Borregales carried himself is actually what made him so reliable to everyone in the building. Through his confidence and composure, he earned the trust of the entire locker room at Miami.

"This past season, there were a couple moments where we would be doing two-minute drills in practice and you would see the defense give up because they knew they either had (quarterback) Cam Ward driving them down the field or the best kicker in the country helping the offense win the drill regardless," Kalter said.

"There was a kick in practice last year in one of these drills that was like a 58 or 59 yarder. It was weird, because typically in those situations there's a little bit of uncertainty of what's going to happen, but this time there was a feeling from everyone, and an assumption, that he was going to make it. I was like, wait a minute, this is a 59-yard kick. But he put it halfway between the uprights, and I was like, OK, this kid is the best kicker in the country."

In times like these, his nickname "Automatic Andy" was earned. For Borregales, no moment was too big.

What sets him apart from other kickers is the fact that nothing can rattle him.

When Borregales missed a kick in his first game of his senior season at Miami, he didn't miss another. And when he traveled to the NFL combine and missed three of his first four kicks, he went on to hit 10 in a row.

"The Patriots are getting a football player -- not a kicker who was a spoiled kid that grew up with parents paying for him to travel all around the country to go to all these kicking camps," Kalter said.

"It was all built from sacrifices from his family and hard work he had to put in himself from the ground up. It started from a young age to have achieved the talent level that he had and continued here when he had to really put on weight to be successful. All that leads to him having what we look for when we're recruiting offensive and defensive players. He has those qualities as a kicker. They're getting as uber-competitive of a football player as they can imagine. He just happens to be the best kicker in the country, too."

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer