By Iliana Limón, Orlando Sentinel
With the buzz surrounding National Signing Day over, Dr. Phillips High (Orlando, Fla.) kicker Shawn Moffitt is back at work preparing for college.
Moffitt plans to walk on at UCF and compete for the starting job. The Knights recruited Moffitt, but college kickers and punters typically have to earn spots on the depth chart before they are offered scholarships.
The Knights have been searching for more reliable kickers after junior Nick Cattoi and sophomore Jamie Boyle connected on 11-of-21 field goals and 56-of-59 extra points during the 2010 season.
One day, Moffitt hopes to be UCF's starting kicker and punter.
“I want to do both, but they want me to just focus on kicking to start out,” he said. “If I do get into punting, I could be the backup or travel team punter. I want to do both.”
Moffitt is training with independent coach Nick Fleming, who has worked with him the past two seasons.
Moffitt, who made the Sentinel's All-Central Florida team, hit 11-of-16 field goals and 97-of-98 extra points his senior season at Dr. Phillips.
His longest high school career field goal was for 52 yards He holds the Florida high school record for consecutive extra points converted, hitting 130 in a row. His kickoffs averaged 65 to 75 yards his senior season, with a hang time of 4.2 to 4.4 seconds.
He is confident Fleming will help him make a smooth transition to UCF.
“He's really good,” Moffitt said. "He has a strict schedule of workouts four times a week. He knows the special teams coach at UCF, so he has a pretty good idea of what I need to be doing."
