The Anatomy of a Blocked Field Goal: Aneesh Vyas Walks Through His Highlight Play

Jeff Bugher
6 days ago
4 min read

A Sack, Tackles, and Now a Blocked Kick: Vyas Wastes No Time in Laramie

Aneesh Vyas. Photo courtesy of UW Athletics

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Saturday night on national TV, defensive tackle Aneesh Vyas blocked a field goal against No. 20th-ranked Utah that kept points off the board and ignited the team.

The 6-foot-2, 301-pound Vyas, who transferred to Wyoming from Bucknell this offseason, described the moment in detail.

The Anatomy of a blocked field goal from the perspective of Aneesh Vyas:

“It's his fourth kick of the first half.”

“I get subbed in on field goal block. Ben [Florentine] and I have been giving our max effort…you'll see that every snap, even after a long drive for a PAT - we're always giving our maximum effort."

"Ben and I were really close to blocking previous kicks, so we knew… It was only a matter of time before one of us got it.”

“What they were doing on the line… they were ducking. So that made it easy to jump up and get it.”

“Ben and I aren't the tallest guys in the world. On the last field goal before the [end of the] first half, Ben and I looked at each other…it’s go time.”

“The guy ducks down, we both jump up after seeing it on film.”

“I felt it hit my hand.”

“I didn't even look back to see if he made it or not. So I'm glad it wasn't a situation where it barely grazed me and still went in. That was points off the board and super exciting.”

Pure adrenaline carried him across the field in celebration.

“I haven't scored touchdowns, I don't get the ball much - so that's as close as I can get to directly impacting the actual score,” Vyas said.

The block wasn’t his first introduction to Wyoming fans either. Vyas had a sack in the season opener at Akron. He’s also had seven combined tackles so far this season.

Is blocking kicks new to Vyas? Nope. Saturday was his sixth blocked kick in his collegiate career. In 2023, he blocked two kicks in a single game against Penn.

As a team, Wyoming has three blocked field goals this year, which puts Wyoming tied for first in the nation according to NCAA statistics.

Why Wyoming?

Vyas told us he had multiple offers when he entered the transfer portal, but Wyoming checked every box.

“I had a good amount of schools, I was being very picky in the process. I knew what I had to offer in terms of football talent wise. Ultimately, I was looking for a place with solid academics, a higher level of football than where I was at before. Somewhere where I would be coached to my potential,” Vyas explained.

Defensive tackles coach Deonte Gibson had just started his new role at Wyoming when Vyas came out for his visit in January.

“When I was being recruited, it was Coach Gibson’s first week here. We were both in the same situation here, he laughed. In meeting with him, I knew that he would be able to coach me to my potential and he would push me. That was the biggest thing,” Aneesh said.

“Opportunity for playing time was another thing. I didn’t want to transfer somewhere and sit. I had 44 snaps against Utah, so I played half the game as a defensive tackle. I don’t think other schools could even promise that. Wyoming didn’t promise - they promised me the opportunity to work to earn that, which is what happened.”

Laramie quickly felt like home.

“It just felt like home when I was here,” Vyas said. “The facilities were great. It felt like an exclusive thing where only people from Wyoming get it. I turned down a lot of other places and a lot of other offers to come here. it’s because I wanted to come here.”

Balancing Football and the Future

Off the field, Vyas is as driven as he is in the trenches. He earned a business analytics degree at Bucknell and is now pursuing a master’s degree in artificial intelligence at Wyoming.

“At Bucknell, I graduated with business analytics and then I’m studying - I’m getting my master of science in artificial intelligence,” Vyas said. “So kind of just following up on that, the math and the coding behind AI.”

I think I want to take football as far as I can, while I still can.”

For now, though, he’s focused on Saturdays in the Brown and Gold - just as Utah found out.

Aneesh Vyas UW Athletics Biography:

Spent four seasons at Bucknell University and was a two-time All-Patriot League selection. He appeared in 35 career games, recording 74 career tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss. He also broke up five passes, forced two fumbles, and recovered one. Last season, he recorded a career-high 25 tackles. He also broke up three passes during the season. He had 22 tackles in 2022 with 2.5 tackles for loss. He is a graduate of Lakota West High School. as a second team Ohio Division 1 All-State, a first team All-Southwest Ohio and a two-time first team All-Greater Miami Conference selection. Also excelled in wrestling in high school.