April 24-25 Weekend Lessons

It has really been great being back in Tennessee for the past month doing kicking lessons. I have gotten to work with quite a few talented kicking specialists and had a chance to talk with many college and high school coaches.

Right now I am putting together a list of the top high school seniors from Tennessee for next year and I believe that there is going to be another talented class just like last year.

If this weekend is any indication of the talent of kicking specialists in Tennessee than I think the future is bright. I did an evaluation with Max Curtis (CPA) (pictured above) and lessons with Andrew Fletcher (U. of Louisville and Mr. Football Finalist), Hayes Foster (Siegel Middle School), and Tanner Hudson (Camden Central).

Max Curtis is looking to be the kicker at Christ Presbyterian High School this year and he and his father, Tucker, came for the evalution. Evaluations are a valuable tool for parents and kids alike because after about 5 to 10 minutes I can tell you if someone has talent or not. After watching kickers and punters for the past 13 years as either a player or coach you can see if someone has the 'pop' in there leg and Max definitely has the ability.

I expect, barring injury, that if Max puts in the work that he should be an All State performer this next year. I look forward to doing lessons with him in June.

The next lesson was Andrew Fletcher (MBA High School). I have worked with Andrew quite a few times over the past year. We have focused on his ability to kick off the ground. Kicking off the ground can be a challenge for kickers making the transition because of foot position. Andrew has worked hard on adjusting his foot position and has really made some great strides on his technique.

This fall Andrew will go to the University of Louisville as a greyshirt. This means that he has the ability to go on scholarship after the fall semester.

Next up is Hayes Foster (Siegel Middle School). Hayes is entering the 8th grade and has a lot of talent. He and his father, Tom, came to me for an evaluation a few months ago and I was very impressed with what I saw. I recommended lessons and this past weekend they took me up on the offer.

Hayes is a hard worker and is really developing great technique. You can tell that he has a strong work ethic and a passion for kicking. He showed great improvement this weekend and I expect big things from him in the future.

The final lesson I did this weekend was Tanner Hudson (Camden Central). Tanner is actually my cousin and just finished his freshman year as the starting kicker. He kicked lots of extra points last year but did not get to attempt a field goal.

After first seeing Tanner kick I saw that there were some things that we needed to work on but he reminded me of a young Joe Nedney. Joe Nedney is the former kicker for the Tennessee Titans and currently the San Fransisco 49ers. Tanner has a long frame and I think he has a lot of potential.

During the lesson we worked on his swing and his foot position and I saw improvement in both areas. I am looking forward to working with him in the near future.

Overall it was a great weekend of lessons and I am looking forward to doing the same thing again this weekend when I head to Memphis.

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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On 'A Specialist's Path' Morgan Cox

James Wilhoit’s ‘On A Specialist’s Path’

The recruitment of long snappers for high school and college coaches can often be an afterthought. Sometimes even for the long snappers themselves.

Morgan Cox (pictured above), a long snapper who is graduating from the University of Tennessee, has the opportunity to be making millions of dollars snapping in the NFL. But had it not been for a few twists and turns of fate, he might be holding a very different view of his future.

Morgan’s resume as a snapper is very impressive. He has been a three year starter for the University of Tennessee handling the field goal and punt snaps. Since concluding this year’s football season at UT, he attended the prestigious 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl and was also selected as one of the top snapper’s at Coach Zauner’s 2010 College Senior Specialists Combine.

This Saturday –during the 2010 NFL Draft- he will be sitting on pins and needles while waiting to see if he is a late round draft pick, or will be an undrafted free agent.

I have always thought Morgan was a very talented snapper; but he is an even better person. I have had the privilege of being his friend, and I have seen much of his path as a kicking specialists first hand (Morgan pictured below snapping to Ray Guy Award winner Drew Butler). I am honored to share his path as a specialist.

Morgan got his start as a snapper in the 5^th grade when his youth football coach called all the players on his team and had an open tryout to find a long snapper. They ask those interested to snap one at a time. When it was Morgan’s turn, he did not perform well.

His father, Wright, happened to be attending his practice that day and offered him a few tips. Morgan, being the competitive person he is, went back to the coach a few minutes later and asked for an additional tryout.

The coach, impressed with Morgan’s determination, let him have another shot at it. This time –with his father’s tips in hand- he did so well the coach was impressed enough to make him the starting snapper.

And that is how Morgan’s got his start as a long snapper.

Morgan was like most kids in that he really enjoyed all types of sports growing up. He played baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, and football. As he continued to participate in a variety of sports he also was working on his snapping. And his dad kept on providing Morgan with snapping tips.

“My dad started to ask around and do research on long snapping instruction, and I worked with a few people around the area,” Morgan said.

When Morgan entered high school he focused solely on football at Evangelical Christian High School in Memphis. He played on the offensive and defensive line over the first few years of his career, while he continued to work on his snapping. He didn’t get an opportunity to snap until his junior year.

And Morgan said his opportunity came only by chance.

“I was in my junior year, and was still waiting to get my opportunity,” he said. “Then, on the very first game of the season, the starting snapper snapped the ball over the head of the punter. From that point, I became the starting snapper.”

After finishing out the season as the starting snapper for his team Morgan started to seek more advice about his snapping. A family friend of his knew Ethan Albright (pictured above), who is going into his 16^th season as a long snapper for the Washington Redskins, and Morgan contacted him for advice. After a phone conversation Ethan took the time to meet Morgan and watch him snap.

“Ethan worked with me going into my senior year of high school,” said Morgan. “He understood that all snappers have their own style so he did not try to change much of my snapping, but he gave me quite a bit of feedback on my speed and accuracy. His advice really gave me confidence in my long snapping ability.”

Morgan also went to the University of Tennessee Kicking and Snapping Camp his senior year. He attended the camp to both improve his snapping and to be recruited.

“I never thought of being a long snapper in college until after the Tennessee Camp my senior year,” he said.

At the Tennessee Camp Morgan won the accuracy contest and Graduate Assistant Coach, Geep Wade -now a coach at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga- left a voicemail that Morgan and his family will remember for the rest of his life.

“My family and I were just coming back to the house from spending the day together,” said Morgan. “And upon getting home and checking the messages on our phone, we found one from Coach Wade which said, ‘this is Geep Wade from the University of Tennessee. And we’d like you to come up here and snap for us.”

“This was the moment I knew that I actually had a chance to do this in college,” Morgan said.

In Fall of 2005, Morgan entered his freshman year as a preferred walk on at the University of Tennessee. The road to being the starting snapper at Tennessee was not always a straight one though.

“The very first time I got thrown in on punt team my freshman year I snapped the ball back to the punter and David Yancey, reserve running back, did not allow me to get past the line of scrimmage to cover the punt.” Adding, “this was my first taste of college football.”

Morgan knew that he needed to improve his technique as a snapper and also needed to add both bulk and strength if he was going to have a chance at the line of scrimmage.

“I didn’t have to think about much else but snapping in high school, but I really had to adapt to both the new level of athletes, and the details involved with scheme and protection it took to play College Football,” Morgan said.

The two starting long snappers at Tennessee were Adam Miles, who handled field goals, and Ryan West who handled the punts. Morgan took advice from each snapper to develop his style of snapping.

“Adam Miles and Ryan West taught me about what I should be doing, and why I should be doing it,” said Morgan. “I mirrored my field goal snaps from what Adam was doing and did the same with Ryan on punt snaps. They were a big part of my development.”

Morgan redshirted in the 2005 season and Ryan West handled the field goal and punt snaps in 2006. So the 2007 season was Morgan’s first year as a starter at Tennessee. His first game was against the University of California. It started out with a bang, but not in a good way.

“On my first snap, I had the luck to have DeSean Jackson downfield, who on the first play of my career, returned the punt 77 yards for a touchdown.”

After the first play of the season things got much better for he and the team as Tennessee made the SEC Championship (pictured above) and Morgan was an integral part of a game winning kick against South Carolina and an important victory in a 52-50 victory over Kentucky in 4 overtimes.

His career at Tennessee was one of great highs with the SEC Championship appearance and some lows including the 2008 season, where the team finished with a 5-7 record and Coach Phillip Fulmer was fired after the season.

Lane Kiffin (pictured below) was hired to to replace Fulmer in December of 2008 and Morgan played for him in the 2009 season.

“I enjoyed playing for Coach Kiffin and his staff,” said Morgan. “He brought a lot of energy to the program and had a different style than I had experienced before.”

Morgan said Coach Kiffin talked a lot of ‘trash’ to other teams and the media. “So it almost forced myself and the team to buy in to him because we felt the responsibility to back up all the talk.”

Morgan also believes that Coach Kiffin now has a new respect for special teams after this season.

“Coach Kiffin was not as hands on with special teams as Coach Fulmer,” said Morgan. “I believe he relied on the Special Teams Coach to do all the coaching, but I think he will put much more emphasis on it now at USC.”

Morgan believes that his college experience was very valuable and he gained a lot of life lessons from playing football and attending the University of Tennessee.

“I would not change a thing in regards to my college career,” said Morgan. I gained friendships and connection that I can take with me my entire life”.

Having finished his last game at Tennessee in the 2009 Chick Fi La Bowl against Virginia Tech, Morgan has been on a hectic schedule.

This spring he has been in the process of finishing up his master’s degree in Sports Management, while completing an internship at the Tennessee football office. He has been conducted the internship while training and pursuing opportunities to be seen by the NFL.

In late January he was invited to the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama (picture above). This event is held for the top senior football players in the country, and Morgan was one of two snappers invited to the event.

During the same week he was coached by the Miami Dolphins coaching staff including Coach John Bonamego, Special Teams Coordinator for the Dolphins.

“It was great getting to work with an NFL Special Teams Coach,” said Morgan. “They taught us a lot of the ‘tricks of the trade’ and I believe what I learned will help me as I try to make it in the NFL.”

Working with the coaches on the field was only half of the equation though as there were interviews with most of the NFL Teams and the dreaded ‘weigh in’ that most players describe as being treated like a ‘piece of meat’.

“At the weigh in I had to strip down to spandex compression shorts and walk up on a stage where they measured my height and weight,” said Morgan. “There are over 700 scouts and personnel people writing down what they think of your body. It can be a little nerve wracking but I was actually excited about the experience because I weighed in at a good weight of 248 pounds.”

In February, Morgan attended Coach Zauner’s College Senior Specialists Combine (pictured below). He performed very well at the Combine (which I like to attribute to the fact that he stayed with me while he was there), and Coach Zauner recommended him to a few NFL teams, and sent a copy of his workout to all NFL, CFL, and UFL teams.

“Coach Zauner’s Combine was a great event,” said Morgan. “I got to meet quite a few long snappers at that I have kept in touch with throughout the process. It was really a great experience.”

As I spent time with Morgan over the 3 days he was in Arizona I noticed how meticulous and organized he was for the NFL. He hired mega agent, Jimmy Sexton, to represent him and had really started to treat his snapping as a business. While preparing for the NFL he has continued to work hard in the weight room and has even gained 11 pounds of muscle since the end of the season.

At the time we did this interview he was about 5 days from the NFL Draft and he seemed very optimistic but also realistic about his NFL chances.

“I am looking for a chance to compete and earn a spot on a team,” said Morgan. “You look at teams like Atlanta and Seattle and see that they have constantly been looking for a snapper for the past two years. These are the type of spots that are very attractive to a snapper.

But if I don’t get an opportunity like that,” he added, “then I would really like a chance to snap in the preseason so that I can get some film out to the other NFL teams across the league.”

Morgan says he understands the life of an NFL long snapper can be a tough road, but he is excited for what opportunities will present themselves over coming weeks.

“I want to keep snapping and staying in shape even if I don’t get signed,” he said. “I am not going to count on long snapping being a career. The process can be long and hard but I am prepared for it.”

Morgan says he saw where the current Kansas City Chiefs long snapper took his last snap in college in 2004 and didn’t take his first NFL snap in a game until 2008. “I think that God will show me a sign as to when I should stop pursuing the NFL as a career,” he adds.

The odds of being a long snapper in the NFL can be tough with only a handful of jobs being open every year, but from getting to know Morgan over the years I believe he will have a very good chance to be successful in a snapping career or in whatever profession he intends to pursue.

“My dad has taught me that research is such an important part of making any decision,” he said. “Whether it is making a life decision or purchasing a TV. I have always been a big research guy in whatever I do.”

I feel that Morgan has done, and will continue to do, the proper research to be “prepared” for anything that comes his way this weekend or in the future. I think that if Morgan has to make a ‘snap’ decision Saturday during or after the Draft I think he will have it ‘covered’.

Note: Morgan was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent. He will compete for the job against veteran snapper Matt Katula and has an excellent shot of making the team.

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NFL Draft-Specialists

Former NFL General Manager Charley Casserly says that "the 2010 NFL Draft might be the most talented since 1983." The talent of this draft, which was aided by the addition of 53 underclassman leaving school early, makes the chances of this year's specialists being drafted that much more difficult. NFL teams are accumulating the talent that is available at other positions before taking a specialist.

So far three specialists have been drafted; Zoltan Mesko-(P-Michigan) (pictured above) in 5th round and Brent Bowden (P-Virginia Tech) at the top of the 6th round, and Matt Dodge (P-East Carolina) by the Giants in the 7th round. The reason that these three punters have been drafted is because they are the top punters coming out this year. I believe that there is a big drop off in the eyes of the special teams coaches after these punters.

There is quite a bit of depth at kicker and long snapper, which could make for a very interesting situation after the draft. I believe that by watching College Football this season, all the major post season all star games, and seeing over 63 specialists at the NFL Combine I think that there are at least 6 of 7 long snappers, 2 or 3 punters and 6 or 7 kickers that could compete for an NFL job this year including a few friends of mine like Will Batson (P-North Alabama), Kenny Spencer (K-North Alabama), and Morgan Cox (LS-U. of Tennessee).

Brent Bowden (pictured above) in my opinion, is the best punter I have seen this year. As an intern at the University of Tennessee, I got to meet Brent and watch him warm up. He hit punt after punt and almost each punt was a spiral nose over punt. He hit quite a few 5 second hang times including one punt I had timed at 5.5 seconds. This is the highest hang time I had witnessed in person since watching Jon Ryan at the U. of Wisconsin River Falls kicking camp last year.

Will Batson attended Coach Zauner's College Senior Specialists Combine and was one of two punters that was recommended by Coach Zauner to the NFL. Will (attempting an Aussie drop punt above) has worked very hard since I first saw him last year and I believe the fact that he can be a good kickoff guy could help him get a chance to get into NFL Camp this year.

Kenny Spencer is a sleeper in this draft as he has performed very well at Coach Zauner's and Louie Aguiar's combines. He and Will just recently worked out for the Atlanta Falcons Special Teams Coach, Keith Armstrong. He is a very smooth field goal kicker and solid with his kickoffs. I think he has a chance to be picked up as an undrafted free agent.

Finally, there is Morgan Cox. Morgan has been a three year starter at Tennessee and attended this year's Under Armour Senior Bowl. He is another guy that will be a borderline draft/free agent prospect. I will be writing a story about Morgan on Monday on my weekly blog James Wilhoit's On 'A Specialist's Path'.

I wish all the specialists in this draft the best of luck and I will be following closely to where Will, Kenny, and Morgan end up today.

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Wilhoit's On "A Specialists Path"

I became interested in becoming a specialist over 13 years ago. From my early teens, I knew this was the path I wanted to walk.

This path was filled with some wonderful moments, but there were also trying times. And along my path, I have met some fascinating kickers, coaches, parents, and people throughout my journey in becoming a kicking specialist.

As I began to reflect on my own journey as a specialist I also started to think about the countless stories of people I have encountered along my path. I want to share those stories about other specialists and their path’s in a weekly blog entry. So every Monday I will write a story on a specialist or specifically about the kicking game.

As I thought about where to begin I decided I should first share my own path as a kicking specialist.

My parents have been instrumental in my development as a person and they always taught me to believe in myself and that I could achieve anything if I worked hard enough and applied myself. They taught me to dream big and shoot for the moon and you might get the stars.

Even at 10 years old I always had big goals, but they were not always to be a kicking specialist. I was just like most kids. I played all different types of sports whether it was basketball, baseball, or soccer. I just loved to play anything that was competitive and had a ball.

I started playing on a traveling soccer team at a young age and my nickname was ‘thunderfoot’. I was called that because I could kick the ball farther than almost everyone my age.

At that time in my life my goal was to be a great soccer player so I put a sign up on my wall that said “Never Give Up on Your Dreams”. I would look at it every day before I went to school.

Goals were always something that drove me and pushed me, and as I became older, my goals started to change.

In 7^th grade I experimented with kicking a football with the high school soccer coach and was able to hit 40 yard field goals. I started to enjoy kicking and I really began to develop my craft (although I really didn’t call it a ‘craft’ back then!).

I had always been a big Tennessee football fan growing up and I would have never envisioned kicking at Tennessee. But I always admired Jeff Hall (pictured above on right), who was the starting kicker at Tennessee on the 1998 National Championship Tennessee Volunteers team. Once Jeff graduated in 1999, Tennessee signed a new kicker to replace him and the article in the Nashville paper was titled “Kicker Commits to Vols”. Once I saw the article I cut it out of the paper and taped it to my wall in my room and this became my new goal (same article pictured below).

In order to achieve this ‘new’ goal, I started attending kicking camps. I went to camps in Texas, Pennsylvania, or anywhere else I had a chance to compete. Even as a freshman in high school I never backed down from the older kids. I had much success in these camps and had gained confidence as a kicker but that did not mean success on the football field.

I was the back up to an All State kicker at my high school and did not start until my junior year. Even though I had not played as the starter on my high school team I had been preparing for the starting job and was ready to take the reins when given my opportunity. I had a successful junior season which led to being named 1^st team All State.

I started to get noticed by coaches after my junior year. This was shortly after I prepared a highlight tape from my season. I sent the tape out to all the coaches in Division 1 football team and I started to get offers from many top programs; including Michigan and Notre Dame.

Ironically Tennessee was one of the last teams to make me an offer me for a scholarship, but as soon as I received it, I accepted it.

Playing for your childhood dream school was an extra challenge that most kickers don’t have to deal with but fortunately I was able to redshirt my first year because Tennessee had a senior kicker. I took this time to learn about Sport Psychology from Dr. Craig Wrisberg (pictured below), professor and mental training consultant. Dr. Wrisberg helped me with the mental game as I continued to also sharpen my skills on the field and in the weight room.

The next year I was able to win the starting job and hold on to it for the next 4 years but the path was not always a straight one.

The tremendous highs included being named Freshman All American and also kicking the game winning field goal against Florida in 2004. However one of the challenges was a constant pain I developed in my kicking foot. This injury plagued me throughout my sophomore year and led to me consulting with a doctor after the season. Once I spoke with the doctor in Knoxville he told me that there was a very realistic chance that I could never be able to kick again.

My world was turned upside down.

My identity was tied to being the kicker at Tennessee. I couldn’t –and wouldn’t- accept this first opinion, and with the help of our team doctor, Dr. Val Gene Iven, I was able to get a second opinion with one of the best foot specialists in the country, Dr. Robert Anderson.

Dr. Anderson was like a gift from God. Unlike the previous prognosis, Dr. Anderson said - very confidently - he could have me playing that season (however he also mentioned I was going to be dealing with some pain).

I met with Dr. Anderson in the morning and was in surgery (surgery scar shown below) by the afternoon and then the road to recovery began.

I fought my way through a very difficult junior year where I was taking pain medication like candy. I had one of the best seasons of my career even though our team suffered through a 5-6 record. I was very fortunate though that we struggled as a team because our season was much shorter that year. Had it been any longer, I am not sure I could have made it through a bowl game because of the pain in my foot.

And then all the hard work and suffering though the pain paid off.

My senior season was a dream come true as my foot began to heal and I had a career year. I was named first team All SEC and became the 2^nd all time leading scorer at Tennessee trailing only my idol growing up, Jeff Hall.

The year brought great success and the opportunity to continue my career as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens (pictured below).

The experience with the Ravens was a tough one because I was just not prepared to be in the NFL. My technique was fine for college, but the NFL was a whole new level and kickers like Matt Stover were miles ahead of me as far as the technical aspect of kicking. Once I was released by the Ravens I began a quest to learn the techniques that I had not been exposed to throughout high school, college, or the NFL.

In my search to improve as a kicker I stumbled upon an article in cnnsi.com where it mentioned a former special teams coach from the NFL named Gary Zauner. Coach Zauner trained kickers and punters in Arizona and throughout my travels as a kicker I had heard of him from the few of the specialists who had worked with him.

I decided to get instructions from Coach Zauner so I was on a plane to Arizona a short time later.

In two days working with him, I learned more about kicking technique than I did in an entire career. I started to understand why Matt Stover and the other kickers in the NFL were so much more prepared than me. Coach Zauner helped me get a workout with the Bills, and this was the encouragement I needed to continue my career.

Once the NFL season ended that year I had been very frustrated that I had not gotten a chance to show the technique that I had learned so I called Coach Zauner for advice. He mentioned that he was looking for an assistant so I called him the next day and told him I would take the job. Coach Zauner seemed to be caught off guard because he had not actually offered me the job, but in a few days he took me on a trial basis.

I knew that my goal was to be involved in the kicking game as a player or coach, and as I worked for Coach Zauner (picture below of Coach Zauner and myself working a kicking camp) I began to see the impact he was making with kicking specialists. Every day he was helping other kicking specialists the same way that he had helped me.

In the first few months what I learned was invaluable.

I started to see how to coach kickers and punters at the highest levels, and eventually I got to the point that I could see the corrections he was making as he was starting to make them.

I was encouraged by a friend to take the information I had learned from Coach Zauner, and all my years as a kicking specialists, and start coaching kicking specialists back in Tennessee. And that’s exactly what I did.

I started lessons last July and had great response as I worked with over 60 specialists that month. This year, those coaching sessions are already paying off. On signing day in February, 2010, many of the specialists I worked with received scholarships from some very prestigious colleges (Corey Acosta, pictured below with Ray Guy, signed scholarship with Southern Miss). I can’t even begin to express what satisfaction that gives me.

Although my path as a kicking specialist has changed over the years, my passion for the kicking game has never wavered.

Today, I am no longer the student, I am the coach. And it is now my goal to help kickers and punters get the coaching I never received during my kicking career. I want to help all those individuals, who just like me, have a picture of their goal pinned to their bedroom wall, and with it have a dream attached to their heart.

I am excited for what I feel I can bring to specialists now and in the future. And I am also excited to tell the stories about some of the specialists I have come to know, and those I will meet.

Individuals, who are On 'A Specialists Path’.

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Southern Miss w/ Corey Acosta

Corey Acosta (Christian Brothers High School) came to me two years ago about receiving some One on One Kicking Lessons. I had just recently been released by the Baltimore Ravens and was not looking to be a full time kicking coach but I started working with Corey on his fundamentals.

Corey was like a sponge and took in every bit of knowledge I gave him. He went from being the kickoff specialist his Junior year to being one of the top kickers in the nation and received a full scholarship to University of Southern Mississippi (picture of Corey on National Signing Day shown above).

This past weekend Corey and his father, John, invited me to come see Southern Miss first hand and see where he will spend the next four years of college. I was excited to come see the campus and meet up with some of Corey's coaches including Larry Fedora (pictured above), head coach at Southern Miss.

Coach Fedora and I have known each other since 2001 when he recruited me at Middle Tennessee State University. My dad and I spent a day at MTSU and Coach Fedora was the Offensive Coordinator and was handling my recruitment. After spending a day with him I looked at me dad and said "I think I want to go to school here". He had that kind of charisma but of course that wore off and I went to my dream school the University of Tennessee.

It is funny how small the world is sometimes because when Corey started getting recruited by Southern Miss I was reminded of the strong impression that Coach Fedora had made on me and I told Corey to have him call me. Coach Fedora and I talked for about 20 minutes and I told him that he should offer Corey a scholarship and not long after that he did just that. I couldn't be happier that Corey will be playing for such a great coach.

On the trip we were able to check out the campus and the facilities and they were top notch. I especially like the water tower that was hanging directly over the practice field and the field itself. The field is a very thin field turf that will make for a great surface to kick field goals and a fast surface for kickoffs. As you can see in the picture (above) the football offices and large display screen are brand new and very impressive.

An added bonus on the trip was getting to see Ray Guy. I had attended a few of his camps when I was in high school and was a counselor a few times at his camps in Atlanta. It was really great seeing who most believe to be the best punter in NFL history. He still looks to be in great shape and seems to be loving life. He offered up some great advice to Corey and it is great knowing that Corey will have access to a football legend anytime he needs it.

Corey and I got a few lessons in over the weekend also and he is really working hard at being ready for his first career game against South Carolina on September 2nd. All in all it was a great weekend and I am looking forward to Corey starting his career at Southern Miss.

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Coach Zauner's 2010 FA Combine

On March 28 Coach Zauner's 2010 Free Agent Specialists Combine was held in Phoenix, Arizona. There were over 64 specialists at the event along with 24 NFL, 3 CFL, and 4 UFL teams were in attendance.

It was great catching up with quite a few friends that I have met through helping Coach Zauner with his One on One Lessons last year including Mark Estermyer (Long Snapper-Pittsburgh), Austin Starr (Kicker-Indiana University), Colt David (Kicker-LSU), and Todd Boleski (KO Specialist-Michigan St University).

The Professional teams in attendance like the Green Bay Packers (Special Teams Coach Shawn Slocum and Packers personnel assistant pictured above) were evaluating these free agents to the college specialists that have just graduated. Teams have already starting signing some specialists from the event including Clint Stitser (NY Jets) and Swayze Waters (Oakland Raiders).

I had a very busy week helping Coach Zauner on Thursday and Friday with all the evaluations for the event and also assisting with the organizational part of the event. The combine itself made for a long day as I helped assist Phil Grams (pictured above) with all the video for the 64 specialists.

Nick Novak (pictured right) was one of the stars of the combine as he performed very well on field goals and kickoffs. He went back all the way to a 64 yard field goal before he was eliminated from the field goal competition by Parker Douglass, who was Coach Zauner's kicker for the California Redwoods of the UFL.

Nick has had a long road to the NFL as he has played with the Redskins, Cardinals, and Chiefs since graduating from University of Maryland in 2002. He just recently had a workout from the Cleveland Browns from attending Coach Zauner's Combine and I wish him the best of luck. It has been great getting to know him from the combines and coaching him at Coach Zauner's Pro Development Camp last year in St. Paul Minnesota.

Overall it was a great event that I was proud to be a part of and I look forward to seeing how the career's of each player in attendance can be enhanced by attending the event!

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