Kornblue Summer Showcase Brings Out The Best

With the recent NFL Draft spotlighting long snappers who have been selected, there has never been a better time to focus on special teams. Kicker, punters and long snappers – always overlooked and taken for granted – are no longer an afterthought, and thanks to dedicated people like former University of Michigan kicker and Florida native Brandon Kornblue, the tables have indeed slanted toward top special teams performer. When Kornblue Kicking & Snapping held its annual National Showcase this past Saturday at Florida International University in Miami, the top legs and snappers from all over the country headed to this twice a year event that has propelled specialist, such as last year’s Lou Groza Award winner Jose Borregales of the University of Miami, who learned his craft from being a part of the Kornblue Kicking Showcase. There is also NFL kicker Eddy Pineiro, who used this showcase as a springboard as did so many others. From Michigan, Kentucky, Georgia, California and Kansas, the best special teams performer in the country headed to Miami to gain some recognition in huge competition that begins early in the morning and lasts until the late afternoon. What these showcase events do is give these special teams performers an opportunity to compete against kickers, punters and long snappers who are considered the best. For Nathan Dibert of Fenton (Hartland High School), Michigan, it was an opportunity to showcase his punting leg and kicking accuracy and strength. Already committed to attend LSU, this is certainly someone who was impressive, and for a left-footed specialist, the advantage of having the ball come off his foot is a way that many are not used to, he has an added dimension to his game. “Because of the positive publicity that special teams receive in college and at the NFL level – with long snappers now being drafted – our showcase events have been amazing,” Brandon Kornblue explained. “The competition that comes to our national events are really serious about what they do.” SOME IMPRESSIVE TALENT As several prospects placed on this day, it only further put them on the map as that college scholarship is indeed the prize. Here is a look at those who placed on Saturday: JUCO/College Transfer Kicking 1st Place – Jose Romo (Delaware State). JUCO/College Transfer Kicking 2nd Place – Austin Hurler (FL) JUCO/College Transfer Kicking 3rd Place – Nicholas Bigelow (Bradenton, FL) JUCO/College Transfer Punting 1st Place – Jose Romo (Delaware State) JUCO/College Transfer Punting 2nd Place – Nicholas Bigelow (Bradenton, FL) 2022 Kicking Champion– Drew Clark (Lakewood Ranch HS, FL) 2022 Kicking 2nd Place – Colton Corrao (Cypress Creek HS, FL) 2022 Kicking 3rd Place – Dylan Hertzberg (Grand Blanc HS, MI) 2022 Punting Champion– Colton Boomer (Lake Mary HS, FL) 2022 Punting 2nd Place – Dylan Hertzberg (Grand Blanc HS, MI) 2022 Punting 3rd Place – Nathan Dibert (Hartland HS, MI) 2022 Long Snapping Champion – Aidan Fedigan (Deland HS, FL) 2022 Long Snapping 2nd Place – Bo Blanchard (Fort Myers HS, FL) 2023 Kicking Champion – Kirill Kotov (Venice HS, FL) 2023 Kicking 2nd Place – [player_tooltip player_id="128846" first="Robert" last="Hammond III"] (Seminole Ridge HS, FL) 2023 Kicking 3rd Place – Stone Springman (FL) 2023 Punting Champion – [player_tooltip player_id="128836" first="Jonathan" last="Walker"] (Melbourne HS, FL) 2023 Punting 2nd Place – Alex Davis (Timber Creek HS, FL) 2023 Punting 3rd Place – [player_tooltip player_id="128846" first="Robert" last="Hammond III"] (Seminole Ridge HS, FL) 2023 Long Snapping Champion– [player_tooltip player_id="128855" first="Aiden" last="Arias"] (Amer. Heritage Plantation, FL) 2023 Long Snapping 2nd Place – [player_tooltip player_id="128857" first="Dominic" last="Diaz"] (Cypress Bay HS, FL) 2023 Long Snapping 3rd Place – [player_tooltip player_id="128859" first="Christian" last="Gerhardt"] (Steinbrenner HS, FL) 2024 Kicking Champion– Gabriel Perez (Somerset HS, FL) 2024 Kicking 2nd Place (tie) – Robert Czeremcha (Columbus HS, FL) 2024 Kicking 2nd Place (tie) – Kristian Hobbs (Western HS, FL) 2024 Punting Champion– JJ Poole (North Oconee HS, GA) 2024 Punting 2nd Place – Kristian Hobbs (Western HS, FL) 2024 Punting 3rd Place – Cooper Holman (Gulf Coast HS, FL) 2024 Long Snapping Champion – Jonathan Zarut (Columbus HS, FL) 2024 Long Snapping 2nd Place – David McDermott (South Fork HS, FL) 2024 Long Snapping 3rd Place – [player_tooltip player_id="128646" first="Ethan" last="Hatton"] (Treasure Coast HS, FL) 2025 Kicking Champion– Vaughn Lennon (Fort Myers HS, FL) 2025 Kicking 2nd Place – Joseph Collins (Harmony HS, FL) 2025 Kicking 3rd Place – Lucas Avino (Belen Jesuit HS, FL) 2025 Punting Champion– Joseph Collins (Harmony HS, FL) 2025 Punting 2nd Place – Vaughn Lennon (Fort Myers HS, FL) 2025 Long Snapping Champion – Nick Hatton (Treasure Coast HS, FL) 2026 Long Snapping Champion – Alex Glin (St Albert HS, KY) NEVER GIVE UP ON THE DREAM In addition to those who took home awards, there were many others who have those same dreams, and will continue to work harder to get in the mix later this year. 2022 Tyler Amaral, K/P, Punta Gorda Charlotte Deaglan Camron, K, Fort Myers Bishop Verot Caleb Carlson, K/P, Miami Ransom Everglades Cole Cawthorne, K/P, North Port [player_tooltip player_id="50093" first="Chris" last="Cayton"], P/K, Fort Myers Cypress Lake [player_tooltip player_id="50098" first="Peyton" last="Giersbrook"], K, Delray Beach Atlantic Juli Guerrero, K, Port St. Lucie Centennial Aidan Hanus, K, Naples Community School Trevin Howard, K, Port Charlotte [player_tooltip player_id="50104" first="Jayden" last="John"], K/P, Miami Central Daniel Lester, K/P, Land O’Lakes Sunlake Richie Maston, K, Coral Springs Charter Brandon Matson, K/P, Winter Garden West Orange Kody McKinney, P, Fort Myers Riverdale Trung Nguyen, P, Fort Myers Sumner [player_tooltip player_id="50114" first="Bailey" last="Russell"], K/P, Fort Myers [player_tooltip player_id="50123" first="Gunnar" last="Gibson"], K/P, Tampa Robinson   2023 Rowe Allen, K, Miami Christopher Columbus Chase Alley, K/P, Fort Myers Canterbury Aidan Martinez, K, Miami Norland Jackson McKechnie, K/P, Pittsburg, Kansas   2024 Andrew Abu Akel, Miami Killian   LONG SNAPPERS 2022 – Bryce Wakefield, Naples St. John Neumann You Can Contact [player_tooltip player_id="111610" first="Larry" last="Blustein"] with prospect or team information at: Floridakids1@aol.com. 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