A family of ‘Automaticas:’ Hear from the Gramaticas about the story behind USF football’s top kicker

By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing

As an NFL Pro Bowl kicker and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl champion, Martin Gramatica was known as “Automatica,” calmly splitting uprights before leaping skyward in pure release — a celebration that became iconic during an NFL career spanning 1999–2008.

He’s different as a father to University of South Florida sophomore kicker Nico Gramatica, who'll next take the field this Saturday for USF's homecoming football game against Florida Atlantic University.

He’s not as calm during pressure situations.

Watching Nico kick is “1,000 times more nerve-wracking,” Martin said. “You want them to have success and, at the end of the day … you have no control.”

And when Nico delivers, Martin’s celebrations are subdued.

Martin and his wife watched from an Atlanta hotel when Nico nailed the game winning kick against the University of Florida earlier this season.

“As soon as it went through, we just got excited,” said Martin, who is the Buccaneers’ Spanish radio announcer. “We screamed a little bit.”

But no leap — just pride.

That pride wasn’t about the score.

“A lot of people assume because of the name on the back of his jersey that he’s automatically good,” said Martin, a former Kansas State kicker whose brothers Bill and Santiago also kicked for USF. “When people ask me, ‘What are you most proud of,’ it’s Nico’s work ethic.”

Martin deflects credit for Nico’s success, pointing first to his wife, Ashlee, a former USF tennis player.

“She’s a machine,” Martin said.

And for Nico’s skill, he credits Santiago. “Technique is very important when it comes to kicking. Santiago has a better eye for the fundamentals.”

Santiago laughed when told that Martin refused any credit.

“That just shows what kind of person he is,” Santiago said. “The truth is, he deserves a lot of credit. He’s a great, active dad."

Santiago said it was Martin's footsteps Nico wanted to follow. It was Martin who helped Nico navigate having such a famous last name. And it was Martin’s fathering style that molded Nico into a confident young man.

“I look up to my father,” Nico said. “He's always taught me so many valuable lessons throughout my life. I always ask him a lot of questions and he's always there to guide me and help me.”

Martin was Nico’s first coach. But back then, Nico’s sport of choice was soccer.

“I started coaching him when he was 3,” Martin said. “I was happy that he was sticking with soccer. You’re one of 11 on the soccer field. You make a couple of mistakes, it’s not as noticeable as if you make a mistake as a kicker. So, for our hearts, it was much easier if he would have stuck with soccer.”

Then, before his sophomore year at Cambridge Christian High School, Nico got the football bug.

“He didn’t look good,” Martin said with laugh, recalling the first time he watched Nico kick a football. “Most people think if you’re a soccer player, you’re automatically going to be a good kicker. But you’ve got to perfect the technique, work on the technique, build the muscle memory.”

That’s when Martin turned to his brother for training help.

“The raw talent was there, the leg strength was there,” Santiago said.

The question was whether he had the drive to transition to a new sport.

It quickly became clear that he did.

Rain, shinen or extreme heat, Nico worked on his technique day in and day out for hours at a time.

“If it’s the offseason and your friends are gaming or want to hang out, you’ve got to make sure that you make time for what’s important at the core of training,” Santiago said. “The hardest part is the mental aspect. You’ve got to motivate yourself. It's not just the kicking. You have to build your core, you have to build your body, you got to eat right.”

Nico did it all.

Then there was also the pressure of living in Tampa, where his father remains an NFL legend. He was recently named one of the top 50 Buccaneers players in team history.

“If you have success, then people are going to say it’s automatic because of the name on the back of the jersey,” Martin said. “If you have failure, it’s going to carry even faster because they’re going to say, ‘Gramatica’s kid sucks.’”

But like his father — who kicked two field goals and six extra points in Super Bowl XXXVII — Nico never let the pressure get to him.

“He just carries a confidence,” Santiago said. “I remember watching him come out for the first kick. I don’t remember which game it was, but I remember noticing that when he ran out there, he instilled this good vibe because of all the work he put in.”

As a high school junior, Nico connected on all four of his field goal attempts plus 27 of 31 extra points. The next year, he went 10 of 15 on field goals with a long of 56 yards — a school record — and was a perfect 26 of 26 on extra points.

The more success Nico earned, the more attention he drew from college scouts. But USF was always at the top of his list, not because he felt compelled to go there since two uncles kicked for the Bulls and his mother starred on the tennis court.

“We let him make that decision,” Santiago said. “But he loved the university, loved being in Tampa. None of us had to pressure or encourage him to want to go to USF. Once he met the coaches and saw what they were looking to build, I think it was a done deal.”

As a freshman in 2024, Nico handled kickoffs and long field goal attempts, totaling 29 touchbacks and three field goals of over 50 yards. That earned him the role as the team’s primary full-time kicker this season.

“He’s done a great job,” Martin said. “I am super proud of him.”

USF takes on FAU for this year's homecoming game on at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Raymond James Stadium. 

For tickets, click here