#ForTheBrand Kicker Profile: Hugo Cifuentes/Marshall (2020)

Today, Nate from Northstar Football News caught up with NFN kicking prospect <strong>Hugo Cifuentes</strong> of Marshall for his #ForTheBrand Kicker profile. We chatted about his strengths, his college interest and why he's a #ForTheBrand kicker in the state of Minnesota. <b>Hugo Cifuentes</b> <strong>Position: </strong>Kicker/Punter <strong>High School Program: </strong>Marshall <strong>Class: </strong>2020, Senior <strong>Get to Know Hugo Cifuentes/His Strengths</strong> The kicker position in high school usually starts like the way Cifuentes got to kicking for the Tigers. Some of the Marshall Tigers players and coaches reached out to Cifuentes as a freshman to see if he could kick. Being that Cifuentes was a soccer player, he decided to give kicking a shot and the rest is history as he's closed out his senior year at Marshall. His two biggest kicking strengths are his field-goal accuracy and getting his kickoffs exactly where his coaches want the ball. Cifuentes also credits his head coach <strong>Terry Bahlmann </strong>for his work ethic as a kicker. "Coach Bahlmann is a coach I have tons of respect for and he shows true care of his players," Cifuentes told Northstar Football News. Bahlmann also has taught Cifuentes discipline, as he credits Bahlmann for telling him that hard work and discipline will get him where he wants to go not only on the football field but in life as well. Cifuentes also credits having "god on his side" to give him the confidence and having him help Cifuentes "keep his cool" in big games for the Tigers. "Relying on my faith has helped me with every kick," Cifuentes said. <strong>Favorite Parts About Being the Kicker</strong> When talking about the kicker position, Cifuentes says to those who may want to play the position in their future, that it's the "best decision you can make," he told NFN. The football atmosphere is what does it for Hugo. "Everyone has your back, and "protects the kicker," Cifuentes said about his Marshall Tigers teammates. Through it all, Cifuentes said the "bond" you feel of playing football makes you feel like you are part of a family, which Cifuentes has built with this Tigers team during his time. Something we didn't know at NFN, was kickers are usually "the goofiest guys on the team" according to Hugo Cifuentes which will take into consideration in our next #ForTheBrand profile. <strong>College Interest</strong> Cifuentes has goals in mind outside of football when it comes to college. He told us he wants to study Biokinetics at a 4-year school. He wants the opportunity to study that as his major, but to also play football as well. He's acquired interest from the likes of Augustana (SD), Minnesota-Crookston, and Bethel University for his kicking talents. <strong>Improvements </strong> Kickoffs are what the Marshall Tigers coaching staff told Cifuentes to keep working on after this season into the off-season. He said he frequently does "hip strengthening and flexibility workouts" to get a better forward through the motion on his kickoffs. <strong>Hugo's Mentors</strong> Hugo credits fellow Marshall alum kicker <strong>Jackson Luther (class of 2017)</strong> as his biggest kicking mentor. He has great respect for Luther as a "player and a person" as Luther showed Cifuentes the ranks of Marshall football and the kicking game. His other mentor is no stranger to the #ForTheBrand kicker profile for Northstar Football News. <strong>Chris Husby</strong>, of the Special Teams Academy, is Hugo's other mentor for his kicking game. "He helps me polish my technique during the offseason and has been a ton of help when it comes to his kicking knowledge," Cifuentes said of his 2nd mentor in kicking. <strong>What Makes Hugo Cifuentes a Minnesota #ForTheBrand Kicker?</strong> Cifuentes hit it on the head with his answer to this question. "For the Brand is something kickers are proud of and just want to give kicking a huge hype," Cifuentes told Northstar Football News in his answer to the question above. Cifuentes has been the kicker of the Marshall Tigers since his sophomore year and that year he scored 73 points and was 94% on his field goals on the year, setting a Marshall record. He was also named South Central District special teams player for all three years he was the kicker for the Tigers. In all, Cifuentes had 160 points kicked for by the end of his senior year this year which makes him the holder for the most points scored in Marshall Tigers football history. Do you think you are the next #ForTheBrand kicker in Minnesota? Send us a DM on Twitter and tell us why.