BRYAN CHAMBERS / The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON - Dozens of kids got a taste of living their dreams as a professional football player on Sunday at the Marshall Recreation Center.

The center for the first time hosted a free NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition for boys and girls ages 6-15. The contest allows youngsters to showcase their talents in punting, passing and kicking with scores based on distance and accuracy.

The center brought the competition to Huntington because it promotes healthful lifestyles among youths, said Matt Weber, a recreation center employee who helped organize the event. The NFL also doesn't charge facilities to host the competitions and provides all of the supplies for free, he said. Seventy-one kids signed up for Sunday's event.

The top finishers from each of 10 age groups during Sunday's competition advance to a sectional competition at a location that has yet to be chosen, Weber said. The winners at the sectional competition will have their scores compared with other sectional champions. The top four scorers from the pool of sectional champions advance for a chance to compete for a team championship at a future Cincinnati Bengals game.

The top four finishers in the boys' and girls' divisions within each age bracket from the pool of all team champions qualify for the national finals at an NFL playoff game in January.

Gaylen Cisco of Kenova stood along the sidelines on the recreation center's practice field as his 9-year-old son, Gaylen Jr., prepared to punt.

"He's pretty excited. Before we went to church, he was asking about it," Cisco said. "He actually thinks that he'll be an NFL player if he wins."

Marc Williams of Huntington brought his 8-year-old son, Wyatt, to the competition so he could see how he stacked up against other kids his age.

"And since it's sponsored by the NFL, it adds a little bit more of a cool factor to it," Williams said.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Ray Guy Prokicker.com competition results from the camp in the San Francisco area.

Long Distance Field Goal HS: Skyler Rand, 50 yards

Long Distance Kickoff: Angus McDonald, 63 yards

Hang Time Punt: Cole Thomas, 4.63

Out of Bounds Punt Right: James Donegan

Out of Bounds Punt Left: Skyler Rand

Fastest Single Snap: Hunter Morgan, 0.83

Most Accurate Snapper: Bruce Detter and Ryan Dunlap, 16 of 30

TOP PROSPECTS

Skyler Rand, kicker-punter, 2013

Nick Lima, kicker, 2013

(Editor's Note: Throughout the offseason, DallasCowboys.com staff writers will take a closer look at the roster, analyzing each player's impact last season and how he fits into the team's 2011 plans. Today's featured player is kicker Kris Brown.)

Name: Kris Brown
Position: kicker
Height/Weight: 5-11 / 211
Experience: 12 seasons
College: Nebraska

Key stat: Brown has a career 77.3 field goal percentage (256-for-331) over 12 seasons. David Buehler had a 75.0 field goal percentage (24-for-32) in his first season as the Cowboys' full-time kicker.

Contract Status: Signed through 2011.

2010 Impact: Brown, a native of nearby Southlake, Texas, signed a two-year deal with the Cowboys during the final week of the season - five days after Buehler missed a late extra point in a one-point Christmas Night loss to the Cardinals. Four months earlier, Brown's eight-year run with the Texans ended after losing a training camp battle with Neil Rackers. Houston gave Brown an injury settlement - he had been kicking with plantar fasciitis - and he briefly signed with the Chargers in late October, making four of five field goals in three games for an injured Nate Kaeding.

Where He Fits: Brown's signing directly indicates this: The Cowboys feel Buehler needs competition. They haven't given up on their young kicker, but they need more consistency from him. Buehler made 4-of-6 field goals from at least 50 yards but also missed three between 30 and 39 yards. Brown was inconsistent in stretches with the Steelers and Texans, but he's an experienced guy who should at least push Buehler in preseason - if there is a preseason.

Writers' Analysis:

Rob Phillips: The new rule moving kickoffs from the 30- to 35-yard line gives Buehler a further edge over Brown. The Cowboys would rather not keep two kickers on the 53-man roster again, but Buehler must demonstrate he can make short and intermediate field goals. Had the Cowboys been in a playoff race last year, they might have been forced to sign a veteran like Brown much sooner.

Nick Eatman: This could be one of the best position battles in training camp, although that's not exactly a good thing. With Brown and Buehler having very similar kicking percentages, it'll probably come down to other variables, such as kickoffs. Brown might be equalized a bit with the new kickoff rules pushing the line of scrimmage up five yards. But ultimately, it'll probably come down to trust. If the Cowboys can trust Brown more than Buehler when it comes to making the medium-range kicks, then it should give him a boost when it's time to make the decision. Once Buehler misses a crucial extra point, it's going to be difficult to fully trust him, which is not a good feeling to have going into a season.

Prokicker.com alum Eric Yang Eric Yang, plans to walk on at Kentucky after setting school records of 18 field goals and 67 extra points, then booting a 52-yard field goal in the senior all-star game, at Brockwood High School in Snellville, Ga.

That's far from the former soccer player's initial impression of Broncos football, the season's 27-10 opening victory over Walton in the Corky Kell Classic at the Georgia Dome.

"I'd never even been to a Brookwood football game before that," Yang told the Snellvillepatch. "I was afraid I wouldn't know what to do. (Football) was a totally different atmosphere than you get in soccer. It's a lot more people, a lot crazier."

LEXINGTON - Kentucky concluded spring drills on Saturday with its Blue-White game at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Wildcats, who were 6-7 last year, feel good about the special teams in the kicking department at least. kicker Craig McIntosh has had a consistent spring and sophomore Joe Mansour isn't quite ready to challenge McIntosh on field goals and extra points.

Coach Joker Phillips' top special teams issue may be finding replacements for Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke in the return game. Randall Burden may be the punt returner with Jerrell Preister and Raymond Sanders as possible kick returners.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

HOUSTON, Tex. – Dusty Mangum’s star in Texas will never dull.

It’s been six years since he kicked the Longhorns into the history books with a 37-yard field goal to defeat Michigan 38-37 in the 2005 Rose Bowl.

The kick not only gave the Longhorns their first BCS bowl victory, it also vaulted him into celebrity status.

Such is the life of a kicker.

Make the kick and be a star. Miss the kick and be forgotten.

Mangum nailed it, making his last kick as a Texas Longhorn one for the storybook.

“It’s something kids dream about playing in the back yard,” said Mangum who these days is a business intelligence consultant. “Never as a person do you think you’ll be in that situation. It’s either good or bad; you’re a hero or a zero. I was lucky enough to be prepared.”

With the game on the line, Texas Coach Mack Brown’s words to his kicker were the stuff of legend. Brown told his senior kicker: “You’re the luckiest human being in the world because your last kick at Texas will win the Rose Bowl.”

Mangum said Brown’s words of encouragement translated into confidence for him.

“You really don’t expect to hear that from a coach,” he said. “You expect to hear ‘Keep your head down, kick it straight.’ For him to say that to me, in that situation, was a positive accomplishment from Coach Brown. He respected me and showed the faith he had in me. I went out there with a positive attitude of want I needed to do.”

The Longhorns trailed 37-35 and Michigan’s defensive front came hard after Mangum’s kick, even tipping the ball, but it still had enough power to split the uprights and give Texas the triumph in the Rose Bowl.  That victory helped set the tone for what would be a national championship season in 2006 when Texas defeated USC in the Rose Bowl.

Mangum had already graduated but his place in Longhorn history makes him a celebrity in the state that loves in football maybe more than any other.

Mangum’s last kick opened doors for him.

President George W. Bush called Brown to congratulate him on the victory and to make sure he knew that he watched the entire game, including Mangum’s last kick that set off bedlam in the Rose Bowl – and in Texas.

Mangum appeared on radio and television programs and was honored by the Mesquite Independent School District (where he is from). He also had autograph signings at Texas bookstores.

Mangum’s story as to how he ended up at Texas is not unlike what many kickers go through. He was a preferred walk-on with the Longhorns.

“I came in during (summer) two-a-days and had to get to school on my own,” he said. “It’s all about getting the job done, kind of like life. It’s all about performing. I didn’t have a school that I clung to or anything. I was a college football fan and wanted to kick in college. It so happened the opportunity with Texas came up. It was the best one for me.”

And the Longhorns.

Mangum achieved many honors during his days at Texas although he wasn’t selected in the 2005 NFL Draft.

However, he is third on Texas’ all-time scoring list with 358 points and ranks first among Longhorn kickers. He made 121 consecutive PATS, a school record, and had two of the top 10 scoring seasons on record. Mangum was the nation’s fourth-leading active career scorer.

Now that he’s removed from playing days, Mangum stays involved with the kicking game as an instructor for the Prokicker.com / Ray Guy kicking Academy. He’s been involved with the camp since 2002.

“It’s a great avenue for a high school kid,” he said. “A lot of times on the high school level you may not have a coach who has great kicking knowledge. We help them know how to kick. We want them to be their own coaches. When you go back to practice, you are your own coach.”

Mangum said his experience as a young player included kicking camps and none were better than the Prokicker.com, which relies on heavy instruction from former college and professional kickers, punters and long-snappers.

“It’s all about making your own opportunity,” he said. “If you want to play Division I football, come to this camp. It will make you a better kicker.”

He saw some outstanding kickers in the first Prokicker.com camp of the season last weekend in Houston. Patrick Sohrt and Christian Madrigal, both from Texas, showed off their powerful legs on kickoffs, punts and field goals.

“There are a couple of pretty strong legs,” he said. “It’s fun to coach up these kids. They’re very receptive to what we’re telling them.”

Mangum appreciates the chance to stay involved with kicking and maybe pass on something that will make one of these campers the next celebrity kicker.

It can happen. Mangum knows that firsthand.

Here's what Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer told the Virginian Pilot about the team's kicker and punter battles this spring:

“I think Cody Journell is going to be our field goal guy. We’ll continue the competition (in the fall). Myer, I’ll say the same thing about him: if he could ever get his consistency, he’d be a great kicker because he’s really got a strong leg and gets the ball up quick. He’s got all the elements but has just never been a real consistent guy. I think that’s how that’s going to turn out.

“punter, I don’t know. Right now, I really don’t know. We talked today. If we stay inconsistent, I’m probably going to go with Danny Coale because he’s the guy you trust and the guy that’s (been) in the game. But we’re going to have to get his steps a little quicker. He gets a third step in there, and we need to get him down to a two-step kicker. Distance and height are good. His fundamentals are a little ragged, but he’s got all summer to work on it. I’m hoping one of these (other) guys will step up. (Ethan) Keyserling hit a couple before practice and boomed them. (Scott) Demler has his moments. (Grant) Bowden has his moments. (Conor) Goulding has his moments. But just a guy who can do it over and over, we haven’t found that this spring.”

Herald Democrat

Former Sherman High School (Tex.) kicker Eric Hosek will be joining the Oklahoma football team for summer training camp in June.

Hosek's mother, DeDe, said in an e-mail on Tuesday that an OU scout saw Hosek play against Texarkana Texas High last fall and contacted Sherman coach Gary Kinne. OU head coach Bob Stoops reviewed Hosek's highlight videos and extended him an invitation to join their program as a preferred walk-on for the placekicking position.

Hosek was also invited as a preferred walk-on by TCU and Tulsa University. All three Division I schools currently have senior scholarship kickers and need a freshman kicker to prepare for the future.

Hosek received all-state, all-DFW area, Herald Democrat All-Texomaland and all-district honors for both the 2009 and 2010 football seasons.

By Ryan Finley / Arizona Daily Star

The cheers rose up, loud and throaty and boisterous, as soon as the 50-yard field goal went through the uprights.

Alex Zendejas heard them.

The UA's star-crossed place-kicker converted on three of four field goals in Saturday's spring game at Arizona Stadium. Along the way, Zendejas chased away some of the demons that have been haunting him since last season.

The cheers "felt good," he said. "That was a really good feeling for me, especially coming out here and that being my first kick since …"

Zendejas tried to find the words.

"That one game," he said.

Arizona fans would rather forget.

Zendejas missed two PATs against rival Arizona State in last year's regular-season finale, including one that would have vaulted the UA to a dramatic win at the end of regulation.

Bolstered by Arizona's special-teams struggles, the Sun Devils won 30-29 in overtime. Zendejas missed two field goals in an Alamo Bowl loss to Oklahoma State, and watched as the UA signed a new place-kicker - junior-college transfer Jaime Salazar - to essentially take his job in the fall.

Zendejas didn't even start in Saturday's spring game: John Bonano, a kickoff specialist, attempted the first field goal - and missed it. Together, Arizona's kickers connected on three of their five attempts. But Zendejas was solid enough to edge Bonano on the depth chart heading into the summer.

"I thought our kickoffs were good," coach Mike Stoops said. "Our field-goal kicking needs to improve."

Still, the fact Zendejas was able to kick - and be successful - gives the nephew of former UA great Max Zendejas reason to be optimistic heading into the 2011 season. Zendejas has received "a mixed reaction" from fans since last season, he said, which is probably being kind.

The UA kicker said he's grown personally since the Arizona State game, when cameras caught him arguing with Arizona fans as he walked off the field. He spent most of the spring working with his new holder, punter Kyle Dugandzic, and building up his once-shattered confidence.

"I won't go through the bad stuff, but there have been some people who have been supportive," Zendejas said. "I'm very thankful for those fans. It's meant a lot."

The cheers Saturday mattered, too.

"I was a little nervous at first, definitely," he said. "But the fans add that extra drive, that extra motivation to do better."

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com Editor

WOODLANDS, Tex. – Ryan Parker made himself right at home during the summer’s first Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy this weekend.

Parker, who will be a senior at The Woodlands High School this fall, boomed a 55-yard field goal to win the camp’s Long Distance Field Goal competition on his home turf. He also won the Side Angle competition for field goal accuracy.

Parker, who is 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, has been kicking since seventh grade. His 55-yard field goal in competition wasn’t his best ever – “My all-time best is 57,” Parker said – but it was good enough to be the longest in the camp competition.

“My goal next year is to be my team’s kicker (at The Woodlands), walk-on (in college) and get a scholarship,” Parker said.

The Woodlands is a 5A powerhouse in Texas schoolboy football. The Woodlands had a 10-0 regular season but lost in the opening round of the playoffs to Klein, 31-14.

The kicker on last year’s team, Ben Pruitt, is a preferred walk-on at the University of Texas. Parker said The Woodlands coaching staff puts a lot of emphasis on special teams.

Pruitt was 15 of 21 on field goals during his senior season with a long kick of 42 yards. He also kicked 98 extra points and was on the 2011 Army All-American Bowl team. He turned down scholarship offers to Air Force, Army and Texas State. He was also offered a preferred walk-on at Texas Tech. Preferred walk-ons, as opposed to regular walk-ons, come with the knowledge they will be on the roster.

For now, Parker wants to compete for the kicking job at The Woodlands.

“Every position is a battle every year,” Parker said. “There are never many returning starters. You have to prove yourself every single rep.

“We should be awesome this year.”

Parker, who is also a wide receiver for Woodlands, did a good job of proving himself to be an outstanding kicking prospect at the Prokicker.com’s first camp of the summer season. He’s been to the camp before and comes back to another one during the summer months. The instruction that’s provided at the camp, he said, gives kickers the opportunity to improve their skills.

“The instructors all played in college and some in the pros so they know what they’re talking about,” Parker said. They want to help and if you listen to them it will help.”

Parker said watching video from the camp “is a huge thing. It lets you see exactly what you’re doing right and wrong.”

Parker was one of several strong-legged kickers who participated in the Prokicker.com camp. The competition was keen, he said, with several prospects on hand.

Parker’s 55-yard field goal came with a cross-wind blowing across the stadium on a warm day in the Dallas area. His kickoffs routinely went from the goal line to five yards deep into the end zone, he said.

The camp, which was full, is designed to help kickers, punters and long-snappers elevate their games, including the pressure situations that are sure to come. Parker said they simulate those experiences through several drills.

“They put you in a lot of different situations, like last-second field goals and game-winning situations,” he said. “It’s all how you approach the ball. You want to kick it the same every time.”

One of the camp instructors was Dusty Mangum, the kicker for Texas in 2005 who booted a 37-yard field goal to lift the Longhorns to a 38-37 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl on the last play of the game. Mangum has been a Prokicker.com instructor since 2002. Senior staff instructor Ken Olson from Phoenix was another veteran instructor on hand.

“All these guys are great instructors who work well with everybody,” Parker said.

The next Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy camp will be May 7-8 in the Tampa/Bradenton, Fla., area. Go to prokicker.com for registration information.