March is a busy month for many NFL Draft Eligible Collegiate and Free Agent Kickers, Punters and Snappers. It's the month for Pro Days (for college Seniors and Juniors entering the NFL Draft) and Kicking Pro Camp Tryouts. One of our assistant coaches, Jordan Wettstein, who has coached with me at Special Teams Football Academy for two years now, is pursuing his dream of trying to make the NFL. It's been a pleasure to have him assist me at camps and clinics, and to mentor him as he pursues the next level. Tonight we take a few minutes to sit down with Jordan Wettstein to find out more about his unique route to earning the starting Kicking role with the Minnesota Gophers and his path to the NFL.
You
have a unique nontraditional background on how you became a kicker, in that you
never kicked a football in high school and decided to give it a try in college.
Tell us more about your sports background in high school and what made you
decide to try kicking a football?
I was a three sport athlete at De Pere High School.
I did soccer, basketball, and golf. Unfortunately, I tore my ACL my
junior year and broke part of my heel my senior year playing soccer, so I
missed the last two years of basketball due to injuries. For whatever
reason, I have always wanted to kick a football growing up. My dad and I
would kick at a local middle school every summer growing up. I participated
in many punt, pass, and kick competitions and always enjoyed those growing up
as well. I have always had a strong leg and it was just something that I
have always wanted to try. I love watching the ball go through the
uprights.
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| Jordan celebrates after a Game Winning Field Goal against UNLV |
You
had an unusual way of walking on with the University of Minnesota Gophers. Tell
us how you went about convincing your coach for a tryout?
I had no intention of going to school to play on the
football team, much less actually kick in any games. I never got the
chance to play football in high school, so the day before I left for Minnesota
I made a highlight tape of myself kicking out at De Pere High School. I
brought that the tape with me to college the next day. I dropped it off
at the football recruiting office and got a call back later that week. I
came into kick for three different coaches the first two weeks of school.
They told me they were set for kickers for the 2008 season, but extended
me an invitation to join the team the following spring. I came back to work
out and kick for the coaches again the start of the 2009 spring semester and
was offered a spot to walk-on to the team as a kicker. I was very
fortunate to be at the right place at the right time.
How
long did it take you before you earned a spot on the team?
Being a walk-on kicker, you have to earn your
right on the team. Never kicking in high school or college before, you
have to prove yourself to the other guys on the team. To me, I earned my
spot when I started kicking in the games and giving back to the rest of the
team. I learned from the kickers and punters before me what to do and
what not to do, what worked and what didn't work. I spent two and half
years trying to perfect the art of kicking to ensure I was ready for an
opportunity that may or may not have come. Like I mentioned before when
entering college, I was at the right place at the right time when the new
coaching staff under Coach Jerry Kill came in to take over in 2011.
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| Wettstein for 3. |
You
got your first start as a Junior, what was that experience like playing on the
field? Who did you play and how did you kick?
My first chance ever kicking was actually the game
before I became the starting kicker. We played North Dakota State
University, where I took two kickoffs later in the game because we were
planning on using a surprise onside kick that I mastered if we were still
losing. We never used the onside kick, but saved that for the following
game against Iowa. It was against Iowa in which I got my first career
start. We started the game by kicking off. As I ran over to the sidelines,
Coach Kill asked me how I was feeling and I responded by telling him I felt
good. He replied, "Well good, because Chris (the starting kicker for
the first half of the 2011 season) can't kick today (he was having a problem
with his kicking leg for a while) so you are doing field goals too."
I was shocked and stunned. I had never kicked in a game, much less
thrown into one like this before. I made my first career field goal of 28
yards and hit the surprise onside kick the helped us go down and score a
touchdown to win the game against the Hawkeyes. It was an awesome
experience and one that I will never forget.
You
started your whole senior year, what was that experience like?
It was awesome to say the least! You don't
really appreciate everything you are given at Minnesota until you are done
playing. The coaching staff and program did so much for me and the rest
of the guys that I can't ever thank them enough! Every week was a new
experience. Playing at all the different stadiums was really neat too.
Personally, I didn't start the season as I would have hoped, but finished
strong. The bowl game in Texas was an awesome way to end my four years of
being on the team. Playing football for the Gophers is something I will
be thankful for the rest of my life.
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| There is no place like HOME (TCF Bank Stadium). |
What
are a few of your favorite memories from playing for the Gophers?
I have a few favorite moments from the past
couple of seasons. In 2011, helping win the Floyd of Rosedale Pig from
Iowa was definitely an awesome moment. Scoring a touchdown on a fake
field goal against the Wisconsin Badgers was really cool too! The bowl
game my sophomore and senior year are times I will never forget. Watching
Eric Decker play when I was on the team was also something I will never
forget.
You
are now pursuing the NFL, what is your training regimen like?
It is a lot different not having to worry
about school work and tests like I did when I was in school studying.
Training is like a part-time job now. I work out at a facility in
Green Bay called Aurora under a program called the Athletic Republic. My
trainer, Andy Krautkramer, has done so much for me the past two months. I
can't thank him enough. I work with him five times a week, for two-three
hours a day in the morning. My workouts are specifically set up to target
muscles I use in kicking. It is a lot of quick twitch muscle and endurance
training, and explosive movement type lifts. I kick two times a week into
a net that is lowered at the facility where I train. We also incorporate water
workouts into my training. I do speed work on a interval training
treadmill, which has really helped on my kickoff distance. One thing that
has also helped quite a bit is using specific band that is made for resistance
training in kicking. Andy and I use that twice a week as well.
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| Wettstein attempts a field goal against Iowa |
You
got your first taste of professional football signing with the Arena Football
team, The Green Bay Blizzard, how would you describe your Arena experience?
It has been a great experience thus far. It is definitely different
than college football at Minnesota, but I am very thankful for the opportunity
to continue to kick and be a part of a team that enjoys to play the game of
football. We are not getting paid anything like the professional athletes
do, so it is rewarding being around guys that want to be there to continue to
play. The program really focuses on striving to go 1-0 every game.
We have struggled a little bit at the start of the season, but know that we
will turn some heads here the next couple of weeks. The guys on the team
and the coaches are really great so far. I look forward to what is to
come.
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| Jordan kicking for the AFL Green Bay Blizzard. |
What
is the biggest adjustment you have made for arena football?
There are three big adjustments I have had to make
in order to become successful at kicking in the arena league. First,
the goalposts are half the width of what they were in college. They are a little
over 9' wide, so you really have to focus on hitting a perfect ball every
single time. Second, the ball is a rubber like ball compared to a leather
ball we used in college. It is a little smaller, so you have to adjust to
the sweet spot on the ball a little bit more. Lastly, you can't kick the ball
more than 60 yards because it will fly over the walls on kickoffs and the
opposing team will start with the ball on the 20-25 yard line. There are
a lot of different squib/knuckle style kicks that I have had to learn in order
to keep the other team off guard.
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| PAT against Illinois |
How was your Pro Day
at Minnesota the first week in March?
I hit the ball best I ever hit field
goal wise. I only missed the last kick which was 50 yards (I pushed it to
the right). I finished the day going 11-12. My kickoffs went well
too. I hit my onside kick perfect too. I was able to get some great
film of it as well. There were a couple of other guys that did pretty well from
my team in other positions at the Pro Day. A
number of NFL Scouts attended the Gopher Pro Day, so I am excited to see what
will happen with all of us Gophers. Overall, it was an awesome
opportunity and hopefully I can get invited for a workout somewhere down the
road.
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| Special Teams Football Academy coaches (left to right- Jordan Wettstein, Chris Husby, and Ryan Coleman). |
|
Over
the last few years you have been helping coach with me at Special TeamsFootball Academy, what have you enjoyed most about helping train aspiring
kickers?
The thing I have enjoyed most the past couple of years is seeing guys
develop into great kickers and fantastic young men. It is really
rewarding to give back everything I have learned over the years to try and help
these guys make their dreams come true to kick in college someday. I love
helping out at the camps and seeing the guys/girls come back using what we have
taught them before so we can continue on in order to help them kick/punt
better.
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| Coaching at the STFA Winter Clinics |
Many
people say that they get better as a kicker once they start teaching, what are
a few things you’ve learned about yourself from coaching?
I have learned that everyone is different in
everything they do, including kicking. Being able to understand each
person and work with them in their own individualistic way has really helped me
have a great appreciation for each person I help. I have been able to see
my patience continue to grow and my passion for kicking grow deeper as I help
with each camp we do. I have learned to appreciate the time people have
taken with me to learn everything I know about being a kicker in order to give
back to others. It has been a very rewarding and experience for me and I have to thank Chris Husby and Special Teams Football Academy for that.
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| Coach Husby & Jordan Wettstein after a Gopher Home Game. |
This week Jordan heads out to the Husted Kicking Pro Combine in Miami, Florida to compete against a number of Draft Eligible Kickers and NFL Free Agent Kickers.
2012 U of MN Highlight Film
We
want to wish you good luck as you pursue your NFL Dreams and look forward to having
you coach at our Summer Camps here in the Midwest.
