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Trey Smack, the new kicker for the Packers, is transitioning from Florida's warm climate to Green Bay's colder conditions. Special teams coordinator Cam Achord believes the concerns about kicking in the cold are overstated.
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GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 29: Trey Smack #29 of the Florida Gators celebrates a field goal against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Packers have both a new special teams coordinator and a new kicker. Naturally, one is going to get questions about the other. And since the new kicker most recently did the bulk of the kicking in the historically balmy state of Florida, people want to know whether or not he can make the transition to kicking in the much more temperate climate of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
For his part, special teams coordinator Cam Achord isnât worried.
âFor me, personally, I think thereâs more made of it than it is,â he said of the difficulty of kicking in the cold. âI mean, just think of the history here, right? Ryan Longwell, Oregon, Cal. Pretty good here, right? Mason Crosby, Texas, Colorado. Pretty good here.â
To his point, Longwell and Crosby werenât exactly kicking in Florida, but both did manage the Wisconsin temperatures well enough to carve out long careers for the Packers â though, in fairness, Longwell ultimately fled for indoor kicking in Minnesota.
But is the question even worth asking to begin with? Should we worry at all about kickers battling the cold? Or was Achord just going to say that because coaches are going to defend their guys, no matter what?
The data shows Achordâs got a point.
Over the past 10 years, kickers league-wide have converted 83.96% of their kicks in outdoor games when the kickoff temperature is 36 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. When the temperature is 35 degrees or lower at kickoff, field goal percentage does drop, but only slightly. The league-wide conversion rate is just 83.55% in colder games.
Trey Smack celebrated a field goal against Florida State while playing for the Florida Gators, indicating a successful college career.
Cam Achord believes that concerns about kicking in cold weather are exaggerated and cites successful kickers from warmer states.
Notable kickers include Ryan Longwell from Oregon and Mason Crosby from Texas, both of whom performed well in cold conditions.
Kickers may face challenges such as harder footballs and different field conditions, but many adapt successfully over time.

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At Lambeau Field, specifically, the numbers are even more unusual. In warmer games (36 degrees or higher at kickoff) the conversion rate on field goals over the last decade is 81.55%, but in cold-weather games, the conversion rate is 86.32%.
To me, this seems like a selection question more than an ability question. Itâs not a matter of whether or not kickers can handle the cold; teams kicking in the cold (especially at Lambeau Field) likely already assume that their kickers canât convert from as far away, leading to higher percentages in the cold (or at least, not as low as youâd assume on a league-wide basis).
If Trey Smack can kick at all, then he can probably kick fine enough to get the job done in the cold. The job doesnât appear to be all that different. And if anything is different, itâs probably that he wonât be kicking from as far away in cold weather as he would be in normal circumstances. For right now, hold off on worries about cold weather kicking for the Packersâ newest kicking project.
Besides, plummeting temperatures are a long way away, and outdoor stadiums are becoming an endangered species. That wonât help him at Lambeau Field playoff games, but if the Packers just resolve to only score touchdowns, thatâll solve that problem anyway.