A question to kick around

[StangEsq]

Max Emfinger lists Ryan Wolcott of Highland Park as a four-star kicker interested in Baylor, Oklahoma State, SMU, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia... any news on him? Would be nice to see field goal attempts from beyond the 15 yard line again...

[Nacho]

Who was our last really good FG kicker?

[PX]

John Stewart was All-American in 1993.
Daniel Hernandez was a goood kicker, but Coach Cavan insisted he make a choice between soccer and football, and that really wasnt much of a choice for Hernandez (NCAA mens soccer Player of the Year in 1997)
Roy Rios had a good freshman year, but fell apart as a sophomore and wound up transferring.

[Dement-ed]

Hernandez was great. In his first practice with the football team, the other kicker (can't remember who it was) was left-footed. The holder already was down on his knee, so Hernandez lined up and drilled a few field goals of 50-55 yards. Only then did he tell his holder that he's really a right-footed kicker, and that his soccer talent allowed him to kick well with either foot.

I still can't figure out why more college coaches don't ignore HS football kickers and choose instead to scour HS soccer games for a kid with the strongest leg out there. Soccer players invariably have superior mechanics. Remember Pete Stoyanovich, the Dolphins/Chiefs kicker who had a very good NFL career for more than 10 years? Never played football in high school or college (soccer All-America at Indiana, I think). Get a strong-legged soccer player and your kicking problems are over.