I found this great article on MaxPreps.com about Kickers and the Recruiting process and their experiences. It is a few months old, but there are some great recruiting tips from a kicker going through the recruitment process.
You can read the article here, or below:
http://www.maxpreps.com/m/article.aspx?articleid=dbdaa559-777b-40ce-8b02-ecd6884e7f8b
High school kickers are earning keep, signing on dotted line
By:
Mitch Stephens
Feb 14, 2012
Garland (Texas) kicker Josh Lambert lined it all up and felt
the weight of the world on his shoulders. This was overtime.
The
5-foot-11, 205-pound senior focused keenly, pored through the paperwork
one more time, grabbed a pen and split the dotted line perfectly with a
clear and legible signature.
He is bound to be a West Virginia Mountaineer.
Lambert
was one of the last kickers in the country to sign a letter of intent
last Thursday. Most of the rest inked theirs on National Signing Day,
Feb. 1.
There will be a whole slew of kickers from 2012 likely signing sometime - anytime - over the next year or two.
The
recruiting process for them is different than that for the mainstream
athletes – the quarterbacks, running backs and linemen – or as they are
called around the locker room, the real players. Kickers and punters are
simply specialists, pinch-hitters, designated free throw shooters.
"I've
heard that my whole career," said Colby Cooke, a senior kicker from
Goochland (Va.) who has secured a scholarship to Vanderbilt. "You have
to block all that out. We're a part of the team like everyone else."
Try
telling that to recruiters and college coaches. Most of them string
along these impassioned young lads, promising them an offer is on the
horizon, which more times than not turns out to be a preferred walk-on
spot proposal.
"They want to see what you can do under
pressure," said David Smith, whose son Jon David Smith from Oak Ridge
(El Dorado Hills, Calif.) signed a 66-percent offer from NAIA school
Southern Oregon. "Unless you're a Top 10 kid in the nation, most schools
are going to rely on walks-ons."
That might be changing. More kids than ever are getting full and partial rides straight out of high school.
From
the Class of 2012, 45 letters of intent have been signed by kickers or
punters from the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision programs. Those include
two signees each to Florida State, Purdue, Georgia, Washington and TCU.
That means one out of three Division I programs are committing to kickers early and not asking them to walk-on.
That,
in part, appears to be due to more specialty camps and coaching so
recruiters feel confident they're getting a polished product, a more
sure bet. Then again, judging by all the last-second chip-shot misses in
high-profile games at every level, nothing is a sure thing in the land
of kicking.
Never has been and probably never will be.
Good advice
In the recruiting process, that will always put the kickers on unfair footing, so to speak.
"It's
really a hard process," Cooke said. "You get told that you're going to
get offers by college recruiters, but then it doesn't happen. You just
got to keep working hard. Something will break."
Cooke, a
6-foot-1, 195-pound senior, made the under-19 USA team that just played
in the 2012 International Bowl on National Signing Day in Austin, Texas.
He was fifth in the country with 17 field goals in 21 attempts in 2011
with a long of 51 yards. Remarkably, a second kicker from Goochland
earned a scholarship in punter Thomas Meadows, who signed at Purdue.
Cooke said his big break came at a Vanderbilt camp.
"I just killed the workout," he said. "The next day they offered me and I jumped on it."
Shortly
after accepting, more offers came in, including Virginia Tech, the
school that originally asked him to walk-on. Virginia and Richmond were
also in the mix. Making his decision more complicated was that
Vanderbilt already has two kickers on scholarship, thus coaches asked
Cooke to grayshirt. That means he won't enroll onto the Nashville,
Tenn., campus until spring of 2013.
No problem, Cooke said.
"I just felt loved there," he said. "I love the head coach, all the coaches, the school, everything."
Picking
the school and education – more so than just football – is vital,
especially for kickers, said Marist (Atlanta) senior Austin Hardin, who
has signed to the University of Florida. In a tremendous series offered
by kickology.com, college-bound kickers throughout the country offered
advice for high-level high school specialists.
"If you had a
career-ending injury you first year, would you still love your college?"
Hardin wrote. "Make sure it's a place you love and want to earn a
degree from."
Other advice offered on the site:
"My
kicking coach told me to remember to look out for yourself," said
Texas-bound Nick Jordan, from Coppell (Texas). "The college coaches
don't care about me, just about me playing for them, so I need to
remember to make decisions for my own good."
Illinois-bound Ryan
Frain, of Scecina Memorial (Indianapolis), said don't expect college
coaches to show up at your game and make an offer. He said he spent
hours on the computer to make contact with coaches and recruiters.
"Do
everything in your power to get your name in front of coaches," he
wrote. "You just never know what's going to fall through."
Frain also wrote: "Enjoy every second of it. It truly is an exciting process that not a lot of athletes experience."
Connecticut-bound Bobby Puyol, of Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), put it this way.
"Go to where you are celebrated, not tolerated."
Late bloomer
All
the good advice in the world won't help unless you act swiftly, Smith
said. His son fell into the recruiting game very late, but jumped in
head and feet first. It helped that Jon David Smith had some natural
talent.
As a sophomore, Jon David, who had played youth soccer
for 10 years, was messing around on the football field and almost by
accident kicked a 60-yard field goal. Word got back to the football
coach, and well, a football star was born – by kicking standards anyway.
He transitioned quickly into the game and booted seven field
goals as a junior and 44 PATs, tying three school records. Dave helped
his son get serious into the kicking process and helped him get training
through nationally known Chris Sailer.
"It's not only about the training and instruction, but getting to camps," Dave Smith said.
Jon
David attended a couple national events in Las Vegas and worked hard in
the weight room to build his leg strength on top of his 5-11, 180-pound
frame. That helped him add 10 to 15 yards to his kickoffs.
Despite
that, and a terrific senior season – he kicked seven more field goals,
40 PATS, had 44 touchbacks in 62 kickoff attempts with a long of 74
yards – he was too late to garner any Division I looks, his dad said.
"You need to get going by your sophomore season," David Smith said.
That
said, Jon David, with offers from Sacramento State and Butler and
interest from Humboldt State, took the offer from Southern Oregon.
"Everything all worked out for the best," David Smith said. "All the process was worth it."
* * *
There are some great online resources for kickers recommended by Coach Husby.
Among
them: NationalCampSeries.com (thorough rating service of kickers, punters and long snappers), MinnesotaPreps.com/Rivals.com (Great information about High School Athlete's and recruiting), kicking.com
(superb expert blog and news section) and kickology.com (the study of
all things kicker related).
For more information:
See our Website.
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Thank you
-Coach Husby
