Roberto Aguayo fully understands that NFL fans across the country have no confidence in his ability to make a comeback. But the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker is undeterred by both that stinging reality and the sudden struggles that prompted his precipitous downfall from touted kicking prospect to unsigned free agent.

In a feature by Bleacher Report's Mirin Fader, Aguayo expressed extreme confidence at the possibility he will return to the NFL. It's not blind optimism driving his self-assuredness, either. Aguayo has apparently regained at least some of the form that made him the most accomplished college kicker of his generation.

“I know I can get back,” he said. “People are probably like: ‘Oh, he’s done. He can’t do it anymore.’ No. I did it at a high level in college. I never got a chance to show it again. I know I can. I’m hitting the ball well now. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of opportunity.”

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Aguayo was a second-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2016 NFL Draft. As the 59th overall selection, he was taken higher than every kicker since the turn of the millennium other than the recently-retired Sebastian Janikowski and former New York Jets kicker Mike Nugent. It's not hard to see why, either. Aguayo was a three-time First Team All-American at Florida State, and won the Lou Groza award as a redshirt freshman.

But that success didn't translate to the NFL, where a crisis of confidence sparked kicking struggled he had never before experienced. After going 22-of-31 on field goals as a rookie, Aguayo lost a kicking competition to Nick Folk the following offseason, and has failed to catch on with any NFL team since.