Specialist’s Corner: Week Two

<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="186237" first="Luke" last="Butler"]</strong> | Heritage Hall ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #e8e3e3;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’0" K</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Not committed</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li>Best skill: <strong>Consistency</strong></li> <li>Favorite pro: <strong>Justin Tucker &amp; Kyler Murray</strong></li> <li>Goals for 2021: <strong>Perfect FG % &amp; Gold Ball</strong></li> </ul> Butler, who finished his junior season perfect on field goals and 47-of-48 on points-after, is looking to finish perfect on all kicks his senior season -- but first, he has to wait another week due to Covid-related quarantine. "I think my consistency is my best attribute," said Butler, who also knocked through 25 touchbacks in his junior campaign. Like most prep kickers, Butler's soccer background was conducive to his becoming a kicker, but unlike most, he played other positions to begin with. "I started playing football my freshman year and was playing linebacker and receiver," Butler said. "My sophomore year, I didn't think I was going to play again, but the kicker that our team had at the time quit unexpectedly. A teammate of Butler's called to recruit him to rejoin the team, with the assistance of a Heritage Hall coach, appealing to Butler's talents on the pitch. "So I went in later that day to talk to the coach, then went to practice and got the job," Butler said. "Now, I'm going into my third year of kicking for the team." Butler has a paced, controlled windup and a strong backswing. He drives through the ball well, but he adheres to his soccer-born technique on his follow-through, usually landing on his shooting leg. Nonetheless, he has a powerful leg and can help the Chargers this season to come away with points near the red zone. https://twitter.com/thelukebutler22/status/1326540669867839490?s=21 <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="101406" first="Jackson" last="Marsh"]</strong> | Booker T. Washington ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #e8e3e3;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">6’3" K/P</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Not committed</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li>Best skill: <strong>directional punting</strong></li> <li>Favorite pro: <strong>Marquette King</strong></li> <li>Goals for 2021: <b>100% PATs &amp; 40 yd Punt Avg.</b></li> </ul> Marsh knew, from his soccer background, the gist on how to kick a ball, but he was still raw when he started playing football as a sophomore. “I wasn’t very consistent at the time,” said Marsh, who averaged 33 yards-a-punt his junior year. Marsh took to the film room to fuel his improvements. ”I think the way I improved the most after I first started was watching myself kick,” Marsh said. “From there I could compare myself to other kickers and analyze what I was doing wrong.” One of the punters Marsh idolized was former Raiders field-flipper Marquette King, due to his “positive outlook on the game,” Marsh said. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">“</span><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">[King] became my favorite player when I saw him in a YouTube video where they said, ‘we aren’t kickers, we’re athletes who kick,’” Marsh said.</span> The 6-foot-3-inch punter handles all three phases of kicking for the Hornets, but he considered punting his best skill. “My A-ball is 70-to-75 yards off my foot,” Marsh said. The Hornets specialist has the ideal high school punter’s build, with a lanky frame. He’s well coordinated, very flexible, and consistently connects the sweet spot of the ball with the sweet spot on his foot to launch punts deep into opposing territory. Last week against Del City, with his heels grazing the end-line, Marsh let loose on a 55-yard net punt that set the Eagles back to their own 40-yard line, ultimately diverting disaster for Booker T. Washington at a pivotal moment in the game. The Hornets went on to win 39-26. https://twitter.com/jacksonmarsh45/status/1401615950659698688?s=21 <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6; height: 22px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 22px;"> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center; height: 22px;"><strong>Caitlyn Clark</strong> | McAlester ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #e8e3e3;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">5’3" K</td> <td style="width: 50%; text-align: center;">Not committed</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul style="list-style-type: square;"> <li>Best skill: <strong>Accuracy</strong></li> <li>Favorite pro: <strong>Alex Morgan</strong></li> <li>Goals for 2021: <strong>State championship run</strong></li> </ul> Clark became the first female player in McAlester football history to score in a game Friday night when she hit 3-of-3 extra points as the Buffs rolled through Sallisaw 57-6. The senior got her shot on the football field after McAlester special teams coach Seth Burgess approached Clark after her soccer practice. "[Burgess] asked me to try out," said Clark, a college soccer hopeful. "I tried it and enjoyed it, so I decided to play." Clark, who hasn't watched much professional football, said she has enjoyed playing with the Buffs so far. "It's definitely a different environment than I'm used to with soccer, but they all welcomed me in and it's been really fun." For now, Clark will handle field goals for McAlester, and she hoped to finish the season perfect on all kicks. She said her accuracy was her best trait. "I'm pretty consistent with kicking right down the middle," Clark said. https://twitter.com/buffsportsradio/status/1434000176914567173?s=21 <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. "This lesson is simple: don't over kick. "As goes in the weight room, you shouldn't hit the field seven days-a-week and hit an undetermined number of kickoffs, field goals and punts, at least not if you expect results (and yes, by the way, you <i>do</i> need to lift too). The truth in any type of training, whether it be kicking or resistance training, is the most important part of the plan is having a plan to begin with -- otherwise, you may see diminishing returns to your training, and you run the very real risk of sidelining yourself with nagging injuries and soreness. "Kicking World founder Brent Grablachoff lays out some tips on kicking in moderation in his book, <em>Complete Guide to Kicking &amp; Punting:</em> <blockquote>I see many kickers and punters go out and kick or punt 70+ balls a day then pull, strain, or even tear their hamstring, quadriceps, or hip flexor muscles. . . for high school kickers you should kick no more than 40-45 balls a day, four to five times a week. Any more than 50 balls a day really puts you at a higher risk of muscle fatigue and possible injury. Whether kicking field goals, kickoffs, or punts," Grablachoff writes, 'you do not want to practice seven days a week. <strong>Ideally, you should have two rest days a week to allow your body time to recover and make your leg stronger.</strong></blockquote> <img class="size-medium wp-image-199357 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Complete-guide-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" />"Although he doesn't expressly state it, it's also implied that Grablachoff, who has worked with dozens of pros, intends for those 40-45 balls-a-day to not all be from 45-plus yards. Instead, you should find a daily routine --<strong> a <em>real</em> plan supplemented with stretching, recovery, conditioning, and resistance training</strong> -- that replicates what you'll see in your high school season and simultaneously prepares you for the college game. Chances are, you're not Gabe Brkic, and you won't take three 50-plus field goals in a game, ever; it's more likely that the bulk of your Friday nights will be spent on the sideline preparing for extra points, kickoffs, and field goals under 40 yards, with maybe a couple from farther; your training should replicate the game, with a variety of your practice kicks taken from either hash inside the 30-yard line, finishing with some bonus shots from 40-plus. “Implementing this plan may include a conversation with your coach, but that requires trust between you and your coach, which further requires you to approach them confidently and from a place of mutual understanding. Reference the aforementioned kicking book to better your chances. If you don’t, your coach may not understand your conditioning needs, and your quads and hamstrings may pay the price; I failed to communicate this with my high school coach, and the consequences included once taking 30 full-step kickoffs on a Wednesday — among other nagging pains and injuries.” "<strong>If you want to be a college kicker, you have to prepare yourself diligently, intentionally, and confidently, and with a plan, like a college kicker does.</strong>"