CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Top rankings and camp winners from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp in Charlotte, N.C., on May 12-13.

No. 1 kicker and kicker/punter combo:Joshua MacClaren, class of 2014, Pennsylvania.

No. 1 punter and punter/kicker:Shea Rodgers, 2015, South Carolina.

No. 1 long-snapper:Conrad Mueller, 2014, North Carolina.

No. 1 kickoff specialist:Rainer Whiteside, 2013, Ohio.

Long Distance Field Goal Winner:Josh MacClaren, 45 yards

Long Distance Kickoff Winner:Rainer Whiteside, 63 yards, 3.63 seconds.
Hang Time Punt Winner:  Taylor Henry, 4.39 seconds.
Out of bounds right winner:  Zac Bolick, 1-yard line.

Out of bounds left winner: Zac Bolick, 1-yard line.

Fastest single snap: Tyler Gibson, .79 sec
Most accurate Snapper:  Conrad Mueller, 20/30

Top Prospects
Tyler Gibson, LS, 2013
Conrad Mueller, LS, 2014
Caleb Fuller, LS, 2013

BRADENTON, Fla. - Rankings winners from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp in the Tampa area on May 5-6.

No.1 kicker and kickoff specialist: Ryan Pandy, class of 2012, Fla.

No. 1 punter: Bryan Kirsche, 2014, Fla.

No. 1 long-snapper: Jeremiah Theus, 2015, Fla.

No. 1 kicker punter combo and punter kickoff combo: Gregory Moss, 2013, Fla.

Long distance field goal winner:  Austin Snowden, 50 yards

Long distance kickoff winner:  Ryan Pandy, 71 yards, 4.07 hang time

Hang time punt winner:  Bryan Kirshe, 48 yards, 4.47 hang time

Out of bounds right winner:  Anthony VonStralendorff, 1-t line

Out of bounds left winner:  Brandon Wilson, 3-yard line

Fastest Snap:  Austin Wilson, .77

Most accurate snapper:  Stephen Kleier (22), Jeremiah Theus, (22)

Talent Search:

Ryan Pandy, K, 2013

Stephen Kleier, LS, 2013

Mac Loudermilk, P, 2014

Bryan Kirshe, P, 2014

Jeremiah Theus, LS, 2015

The Ray Guy Prokicker.com's NFL connections grew during the NFL Draft.

Alumni/staff selected during the draft included Randy Bullock, who was taken by the Houston Texans; Blair Walsh, who was selected by the Minnesota Vikings; and John Potter, who was taken by the Buffalo Bills.

Three others signed NFL contracts - Carson Wiggs to the Seattle Seahawks, Drew Butler to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Shawn Powell to the Buffalo Bills.

Bullock, a former Texas A&M kicker, was the first kicker taken in franchise history by the Texans. He went in the third round with the 161st overall pick. The 2011 Lou Groza Award winner made 63 of 80 field goals during his career as an Aggie. Bullock won't be far from his hometown of Klein High School, which is located in the Houston area.

Walsh, a former Prokicker.com camper, was taken in the sixth round. Walsh made 21 of 35 field goals for the Georgia Bulldogs last season. Veteran kicker Ryan Longwell signed a four-year deal before last season, so Walsh could be used as a kickoff specialist early in his career with the Vikings.

Potter was taken in the seventh round with the 251st overall selection by the Bills. He was one of the most dependable kickers in the Mid-American Conference. Potter holds WMU’s school record for career points scored with 333 and finished his collegiate career with a running streak of 129 straight extra-point kicks converted, but he also left the Broncos as the program’s record holder for most career tackles by a kicker with 36.

Wiggs was an outstanding kicker for Purdue while Butler and Powell are punters. Butler played at Georgia and is the son of former NFL kicker Kevin Butler while Powell punted for Florida State.

All six players had connections to Ray Guy Prokicker.com either as a camper or staff member.

By MIKE CARMINI / Boilerstation

If you're not going to be selected until the third day of the NFL Draft, you probably should adopt Carson Wiggs' attitude.

"If I'm going to get drafted in the last round, I might as well be Mr. Irrelevant," the former Boilermaker kicker said of the title bestowed to the last pick in the draft. "I hear they have some pretty good perks for that."

This year's last pick goes to the Indianapolis Colts, who have veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri on their roster. That may not work out for Wiggs, but getting drafted would.

Although most kickers sign as free agents, there's something special about being one of the 253 players selected by the 32 NFL teams. The last time a Boilermaker didn't get drafted was 1997.

"My mind has changed from a couple of months ago," Wiggs said. "When I first heard about how free agency works and how I can pick my own team and who I think I can beat out, that sounded great.

"After talking to (special teams coordinator) J.B. Gibboney, you want to get drafted. They're looking for you to come in and beat somebody or they have problems. If I get drafted, that means they want me to come in and win the job."

By Bryan Strickland / Carolina Panthers

For the first time in franchise history, the Panthers will go into the draft without a punter on their roster.

That doesn't necessarily mean they will emerge from this year's draft with one.

"We have several options," general manager Marty Hurney said. "We could do it during the draft, after the draft, in free agency. There are some different options we have targeted.  We'll see how it plays out."

The Panthers have never drafted a punter or kicker, dating to their inaugural draft in 1995. They're not alone in that regard.

Over the last 17 drafts, six teams haven't used a pick on a specialist. Six others have used just one pick on a specialist.

Since 1995, 31 punters (and 30 kickers) have been drafted, meaning less than two punters per year were chosen. Yet in all but one year, 1996, at least one punter has been picked.

The punters who appear most likely to be drafted this year are Bryan Anger of California and Drew Butler of Georgia.

Anger averaged 43.7 yards per punt over the past four seasons, grossing 50 or more yards 28 percent of the time and pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line 36 percent of the time. Anger set a school record in 2010 with a 45.6-yard average.

Butler, the son of longtime Chicago Bears kicker Kevin Butler, averaged 45.6 yards over the past three seasons, grossing 50 or more yards 35 percent of the time and pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line 37 percent of the time. Butler led the nation in 2009 with a 48.1-yard average.

Panthers head coach Ron Rivera played at Cal, and he played with Butler in Chicago.

Will any of that translate into the Panthers drafting a punter? Only time will tell.

WOODLANDS, Tex. – Here are the competition winners from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp at the Woodlands near Houston.

No.1 kicker:Brett Rattan, class of 2013, Texas
No.1 punter: Trevor Vincent, class of 2013, Louisiana
No.1 long-snapper: Carl Stephens, class of 2012, Texas
No.1 kicker/punter: Caleb Garza, class of 2013, Texas
No.1 punter/ kickoff specialist and kickoff specialist: Trevor Vincent, class of 2013, Louisiana

Long distance field goal winner:  Trevor Vincent, 50 yards
Long distance kickoff winner:  Caleb Garza, 70 yards
Hang time punt winner:  Caleb Garza, 55 yards, 4.15 hang time
Out of bounds punt right winner:  Dustin Welch, 4 yard line
Out of bounds punt left winner:  Trevor Vincent, 5 yard line
Fastest single snap time:  Carl Stephens, .81
Most accurate snapper:  Carl Stephens, 16/30

Talent Search:
Brent Rattan, K, class of 2013, Texas
Caleb Garza, K/P, class of 2013, Texas

By Mark Maynard / Prokicker.com

WOODLANDS, Tex. – Ray Guy Prokicker.com’s camp season got off to a strong start this weekend at Woodlands High School.

The premiere kicking, punting and long-snapping camp in America greeted 29 campers to its first camp of the season.

There were some impressive showings by kickers Caleb Garza and Brett Rattan and long-snapper Carl Stephens.

Stephens, who graduated from Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio last year, came in to hone his snapping skills before coaches from Texas A&M evaluate him.

“He just started snapping,” said veteran Prokicker.com staffer Ken Olson. “He’s a kid that played tackle (in high school) but he’s too small to play tackle in college. He’s a good kid, always asked questions and is very coachable. I like his upside.”

Stephens, who is 6-4 ½ and 265 pounds, had a fast snap of .81 and scored 16 of 30 on charting.

“He has a fast snap,” Olson said. “I like his potential.”

Olson said he knew A&M coach Kevin Sulmin from the days when they were both Gas at Washington State.

Two kickers, Caleb Garza of Austin, Tex., and Brent Rattan of Mesquite, Tex., showed promise as well.

Garza averaged 39.3 on punts, had a kickoff of 70 yards with a 3.6 hangtime and made 90 percent of his field goals. Garza, who will be a senior at James Bowie High School, scored well in the Ray Guy Prokicker.com Winter camp in Arlington in December.

Rattan was a perfect 10 of 10 on field goal attempts on the first day despite windy conditions, said staffer Matt Reagan.

“He’s a good kicker with a strong leg,” Reagan said. “He didn’t let the wind bother him at all. It was a pretty stiff crosswind and he handled it real well. His field goals were solid.”

Garza and Rattan are both members of the 2013 graduating class.

The next Prokicker.com camp will be in Bradenton, Fla., on May 4-5. Go to Prokicker.com to register before all spaces are gone and to learn about one of 33 other camps this summer. Call (606) 327-0051 for camp information.

By Mark Maynard / Prokicker.com

Calling all college punters and kickers: You’re never too good to learn more which is why Ray Guy Prokicker.com is providing a camp with your skill set in mind.

The inaugural Prokicker.com College kicking and College punting camps will be July 21-22 in Atlanta. The nation’s No. 1 punting, kicking and long-snapping camp staff will focus attention on college punters and kickers before they return to campus to compete for jobs.

It serves as the perfect tuneup to what Prokicker.com hopes will be the best season ever on the college level.

Jonathan Ruffin, the 2000 Lou Groza Award winner while at the University of Cincinnati, will be the lead instructor for the College kicker camp. Ruffin’s impeccable credentials make him the perfect choice to hone the skills of a young or veteran college kicker. Participants will come away from the camp with renewed confidence and tips that will turn them into kicking stars.

Ray Guy, the top punter in NFL history and a member of the 75^th Anniversary All-Time NFL Team, will join with camp director Rick Sang to lead the College punter camp.

Nobody does punting better than Prokicker.com with 13 camper/staff alumni serving as kickers in the NFL today. That includes Pro Bowl punters Shane Lechler (Raiders) and Andy Lee (49ers), both who have endorsed the Prokicker.com strategies.

Go to Prokicker.com to register for a spot at one of these camps.

By Mark Maynard / Prokicker.com

At Ray Guy Prokicker.com, football is always in the air.

The dependable and professional staff at Prokicker.com will have 33 kicking academies this summer, including one at a new location in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 29-30.

The stopover at Draper, Utah (near Salt Lake) will be the first time the nation’s top punting, kicking and long-snapping camp has been to that state. It will come during a West Coast swing this summer that also includes Los Angeles (June 28-29), Seattle (July 2-3) and Denver (July 3-4).

“We’re excited about adding Salt Lake City to our schedule,” said camp director Rick Sang. “We want to reach as many talented players as possible to help them reach their goals.”

The Prokicker.com staff is committed to providing opportunities for punters, kickers and long-snappers from coast to coast. The results speak for themselves with 707 players on college rosters who have been Prokicker.com participants. Eighteen alumni and staff are currently playing in the NFL. Those eye-popping numbers are why top NFL punters like Shane Lechler of the Raiders and Andy Lee of the 49ers strongly endorse the Prokicker.com camps.

Lechler and Lee are both former camp participants.

Cost for a two-day academy is $425 or a one-day camp is $300. Players can do skill charting for the Prokicker.com National Rankings for $175.

The first camp of the season comes April 13-14 in Woodlands, Tex.

By DAVE HICKMAN / Charleston Gazette

MORGANTOWN - It's not all about attitude, but it helps to start with a good one.

That seems to be at least a bit of the philosophy of Joe DeForest as he tries to repair West Virginia's not-always-special special teams.

A bad punt or a bad kick? Well, those can be addressed through mechanics and practice and film study and just plain old hard work. But if, as seemed to be the case more than once a year ago, those punters and/or kickers start thinking too much about their failures, well, that's often too much of a hurdle to overcome.

"If they let it get in their heads, then no amount of fundamentals in the world is going to help them,'' DeForest said. "That's got to be first and foremost. Then we can work on mechanics.''

As West Virginia goes through 15 spring practices this month and next, most of the focus is, naturally, on tweaking and refining an offense with worlds of potential and building a brand new defense from the ground up with a virtually new coaching staff and a host of new faces on the field.

But there's also a new emphasis on special teams, one that's perhaps long overdue. Dana Holgorsen has shuffled his staff and put Steve Dunlap in charge of the special teams. He hired DeForest away from Oklahoma State primarily to serve as the new co-defensive coordinator, but also for his acumen as a special teams guru.

Oh, might he have been nice to have had around a year ago when first Corey Smith and then Michael Molinari went through their stretches of 50- and 60-yard punts followed by strings of frustrating shanks and misfires.

Already Dunlap is noticing a difference.

"They're getting coached. Joe DeForest is coaching them and he knows a lot about kickers,'' Dunlap said. "A lot of those things that happened to them last year, there were a lot of us here who couldn't fix it. I've never been a guy who could coach the kickers. Joe's a guy who understands the kickers and the snappers. He's going to be a big bonus.''

As the special teams coordinator at Oklahoma State, DeForest oversaw some of the best in the country. He left in Stillwater perhaps the best punter and kicker in the country next year in Quinn Sharp. He was third in the nation in punting average last season, made 22 of his 25 field goal attempts, was the leading kick scorer in the country and led the country with 61 touchbacks on kickoffs.

OK, so DeForest can't take all the credit for that, and he's not likely to turn Smith or Molinari or Tyler Bitancurt into Quinn Sharp. But after 22 years of coaching kickers and punters, he's gotten to know how to handle these guys and make them better.

That includes what he's now doing at West Virginia, which is filming the kickers and punters every day and going over technique before every practice.

"It's just something you work at,'' DeForest said. "And anytime you work at something you get better at it, just like the players do. But I've also been very fortunate that I've had great specialists. We've recruited great specialists and they've performed.''

There's more to special teams than just kicking, of course. There's coverage and returns, placement, all sorts of things. There's also finding the right players to man the teams. That was an issue as recently as last season when Holgorsen would almost routinely fire most of a kickoff coverage unit, replace them and wind up replacing them again, sometimes in mid-game.

There are two things Dunlap and DeForest hope will help that situation this year: more scholarship players and more emphasis.

"The problem here in the past is we've never been up to speed with people,'' Dunlap said. "We've been under scholarship [limits] a little bit and we just didn't have enough bodies running around. By the time you go to midseason on we started running short of bodies because of injuries and that kind of thing. You can't put every one of your starters on every special team, so we tried to prioritize what starters we put on those teams.

"The punt is always your first priority. There aren't many plays that average 35 or 40 yards a play. And the coverage teams always take a little bit of a priority over the return teams. Those are the can-get-you-beat teams.''