I am hosting a College Senior Specialist’s Football Kicking Combine, as it is my experience the best kicking specialist talent is not seen at their College Pro Day or showcased at the NFL Combine.
An example of this is when I attended the NFL Combine in 2008.
At the event, I was immediately struck by the lack of quality kicking specialist’s talent that had been invited. And when the NFL Combine was over, I left thinking about all the quality kicking specialist talent available throughout the country that should have been invited but were not.
In fact that Spring I was working and training two kicking specialists who I believed had much more talent than anyone I had seen at the NFL Combine; punter Brett Kern (University of Toledo) and kicker Garrett Hartley (University of Oklahoma).
The 2008 NFL season proved this to be true.
During that season, the Denver Broncos called and asked me to find them a young punter and kicker. I recommended both specialists and the Broncos signed both Kern and Hartley to Free Agent Contracts.
Kern made the team and Hartley was released before training camp due to the 80-man roster rule. Hartley later signed with the New Orleans Saints and played 8 games in which he was a perfect 13 for 13 in the 2008 season.
Both specialists were signed to NFL multi-year contract extensions.
And they weren’t the only kicking specialists who were not invited to the NFL Combine but were signed to the NFL that year. In fact six kicking specialists who were not invited to the NFL Combine were either drafted or signed as Free Agents and made NFL rosters.
And it’s important to note that only two kicking specialists invited to the 2008 NFL Combine made an NFL roster that year! And neither made it through the season.
I don’t know why so much kicking specialist talent is overlooked and therefore not invited to the NFL Combine, but perhaps it is because there is a general lack of knowledge of what qualities, technique and personality it takes to be an NFL Kicking Specialist.
It seems often times a players ability is determined on ‘kicking distance’ or a 'stop watch' reading rather than on a kicking specialists skills and technique.
Regardless the reason, many excellent kicking specialists never get invited to the NFL Combine and therefore never get drafted or signed to the NFL.
I have attended the NFL Combine for the past 20 plus years and I am very familiar with the quality of talent showcased there. It is my opinion that the ‘top’ College Senior kicking talent has not been invited to the NFL Combine. There is no 'consistency' in the talent represented from year to year. Therefore NFL teams have not seen the best kicking specialists available.
The other troubling issue is many college seniors kicking specialists expect to be seen on their ‘Pro Day' by NFL Special Teams Coaches and Scouts, but the fact is that does not always happen.
The big universities with the most NFL potential football players will have a big Pro Day, but far too often, many College Senior Kicking Specialists will have no NFL Special Teams Coaches or Scouts at their workout either because the scout needed to get to the next College ‘Pro Day’ -and didn't have time to look at the kicking specialists- or no scout showed up at all.
My College Senior Specialist's Football Kicking Combine is designed to ensure the best college kicking specialist talent at all divisions of college football, are not overlooked by NFL teams just because they weren’t invited to the NFL Combine or were not seen at their College Pro Day.
It is my goal to make sure the best kicking specialist talent IS seen by NFL Special Teams and Directors of Pro or College Personnel, so these specialists also have a chance to be drafted or signed as a NFL free agent.
My background and experience have shown I can make this happen for College Seniors.
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