Specialist’s Corner: Week One

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> <strong>Fourth-down heroes</strong> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="112469" first="Connor" last="Nolan"]</strong> | Bixby ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="height: 21px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #e8e3e3;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">6’2" K/P</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Not committed</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> [caption id="attachment_194388" align="alignleft" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-194388" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/08/AJ5I0316-300x222.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="222" /> Photo: David Stacy South County Pixels[/caption] <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li>Biggest strength: <strong>placement</strong></li> <li>Favorite pro: <strong>Jason Myers</strong></li> <li>Goal for 2021: <strong>State championship No. 3</strong></li> </ul> When asked by Bixby coach Loren Montgomery to join the football team his freshman year, Nolan was hesitant. "Initially," said the two-sport star, "I told him no because I was playing club soccer in the fall." "Two years later, I’m an undefeated, two-time state champion." Nolan, who knocked through 66-of-67 points-after in 2020, knocked through a 29-yard field goal in the 6A-II State Championship game last December in which the Spartans won 17-14 against Choctaw to claim their fifth gold ball in six years. A tall, lanky athlete with a natural swing from his years of experience on the pitch, Nolan has a deadly rugby leg with consistent height, distance and placement, and on a team that won its opening game 69-14 (not a rare margin of victory in Bixby, Oklahoma), Nolan is one of its best defensive weapons. His kickoff leg, as is the tendency of many soccer players-turned-kickers, has been of tremendous utility for the Spartans. Nolan’s field goal leg appears to be getting stronger and more tuned, as well, as he has been following through higher and with better rhythm, as it appears from the video below that his core strength and flexibility have both improved. Nolan is one of the most prepared college recruits in his class, both on the field and off. Aside from his four-plus star ratings as a punter and kicker by Chris Sailer, Nolan boasts an exceptional 4.71 GPA and 32 composite ACT score. Though Nolan plans to focus his time to his studies in college, the two-sport standout said he is "not opposed" to exploring recruitment in either sport. "I want to pursue a medical degree in college," Nolan said. https://twitter.com/ConnorNolan2022/status/1393960877649534978?s=20 <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="160663" first="Max" last="Paskvan"]</b> | Jenks ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="height: 21px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #e8e3e3;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">6’1" K</td> <td style="width: 50%; height: 21px; text-align: center;">Not committed</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <img class="size-medium wp-image-182651 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/08/Max-Paskvan-4-crop-5698x3741-1628612733-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li>Biggest strength: <strong>consistency</strong></li> <li>Favorite pros: <strong>Troy Polamalu and Justin Tucker</strong></li> <li>Goal for 2021: <strong>100% PATs</strong></li> </ul> Paskvan had a "leg up" when he decided to pursue kicking after his freshman year: a personal coach. "I was pretty lucky that my dad was once a college kicker for Tulsa," PaskVan said, "so he gave me many tips on how to improve." Damon Paskvan spent one season with the Golden Hurricane in 1989 following an impressive high school career at Putnam City. Thirty-one years later, his son became a state champion at Jenks, knocking through a combined five-of-five field goals in the semifinal and championship games against Owasso and Edmond Santa Fe, respectively. "[Winning state] was a dream come true after coming short the year before," Paskvan said, "and to kick how I did in it was amazing." The senior, who was named first in the All-<a href="https://tulsaworld.com/sports/high-school/football/watch-now-strong-postseason-lifts-jenks-max-paskvan-in-all-world-kicker-rankings/article_bd7154aa-f17f-11eb-af7c-57651b41f453.html">Tulsa World</a> preseason kicker rankings, finished his junior campaign eight-of-nine on field goals and 63-of-64 on points-after. It was only a couple years ago that Paskvan was giving football a try for the first time. "I’ve played soccer my whole life, and near the end of my freshman year, [offensive coordinator Greg Calabrese] called me up cause they had a shortage of kickers sophomore year and asked for me to try out kicking," Paskvan said. "So ever since sophomore year, I’ve loved kicking and it’s brought a new desire to my life." Paskvan has exceptional confidence and poise, especially for somebody who has only been playing football a few years. It only takes a half-minute digging into his highlight reel to see that he has no trouble being called upon to hit long-range kicks, indicative in his perfect five-of-five from 30-plus yards last season. Paskvan has great understanding of "small-medium-long" on his field goal approach, although he takes a more conservative plant step, presumably for control. Both on kickoff and field goal, Paskvan finishes proud and tall. Defensively, Paskvan’s big leg is a tremendous weapon for the Trojans as he hammered 24 touchbacks in his junior year. He has a paced kickoff progression, accelerating gradually without over-striding or to ensure a clean ball. https://twitter.com/paskvan_/status/1349863251501330434?s=20 <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #63b9e0; height: 27px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 27px;"> <td style="width: 100%; height: 27px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What I wish I knew...</span></strong></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em><img class="size-medium wp-image-194393 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/08/IMG_8642-300x176.png" alt="" width="300" height="176" />Each week, one current or former college or professional kicker joins Prep Redzone’s Specialist's Corner to provide one tip they wish they had known when they were in high school.</em></span> → Bryce McKinnis spent one season at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2018. He kicked and played receiver at Tishomingo High School from 2013-2017 and was named district 2A-4 Special Teams MVP, <em>The Daily Ardmoreite </em>super team kicker of the year, and <em>Vype </em>All-Southeastern Oklahoma kicker. "More than in any other position, the monetization of camps and showcases has created a difficult environment for specialists to get recruited in, and in some cases, it has corrupted the recruiting process for kickers and punters -- especially those from less fortunate families. "I’m not throwing the towel down on Kohl’s, Chris Sailer Kicking, Kicking World, and other national camps; these have been tremendously helpful to hundreds of high school recruits over the past decade or longer. However, between camp fees, flights and hotels, these showcases can be very costly, and they may not be so helpful to some college recruits. For most high school specialists aiming at a career in college, Division-II, Division-III, NAIA, and schools in similar divisions will be the goalposts. You’ll probably have a rough estimate of your recruiting window by your junior season. If you’re like most high school kickers who will be in the medium-to-lower recruiting window, finding a private coach (or even just consuming the hundreds of hours of free kicking instruction on the web) and attending local showcases may be better alternatives. "Thankfully, many D-II schools in Oklahoma have scheduled specialist camps on their summer schedules, and they’re generally below $60 to register. Thanks to the digitization of recruiting, players can also do favors for themselves by identifying and tagging college assistants in their highlights and/or sending film, statistics, awards and academic achievements via email. "The verdict? If you have the opportunity to participate in national showcases and have the financial liberty and time to do so, you should pursue these great privileges. However, if that’s not the spot you’re in, do yourself a favor and look for one-on-one help, and get yourself in front of every D-II, D-III and NAIA coach you can find within your region."