JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Rankings and competition winners from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com winter camp here last weekend.

Rankings

1.kicker and kickoff specialist: Nick Tankersley (class of 2012), Florida

1.punter: Matt Delaney (2013), Georgia

1.Long-snapper: Ike Powell (2014), Georgia

1.kicker/punter combo: Matt Delaney (2013), Georgia

1.punter/kickoff specialist: Alex Knight (2013)

Competition winners

Long Distance Field Goal Winner:  Nick Tankersley, 50 yds

Long Distance Kickoff Winner:  Nick Tankersley, 73 yds

Hang Time Punt Winner:  Alex Knight, 46 yd, 4.58 sec

Out of Bounds punt right:  Kyle Gullikson, 5 yd line

Out of Bounds punt left:  Kyle Gullikson, ½ yd line

Fastest Single Snap: Ike Powell .78

Most Accurate Snapper: Ike Powell, 22 out of 30

Top Prospects

Nick Tankersley, K, 2012

Ike Powell, LS, 2014

Colin Linden, LS, 2014

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

ASHLAND, Ky. – The inaugural Ray Guy Prokicker.com High School All-Americans include some of the nation’s top punting, kicking, kickoff and long-snapping prospects.

Players were selected after much vetting from the Prokicker.com staff, who watched and coached the players during camps, and also by how the players performed on the field during the 2011 high school season.

“Our staff has personally watched these players and worked with these players during camps,” said Prokicker.com founder and camp director Rick Sang. “We’ve seen them and know what they can do.”

There were four All-America categories – punting, kicking, long-snapping and kickoff specialist. The last category is believed to be the first of its kind in receiving All-America postseason recognition.

“There are a lot of facets to special teams and we feel like this is an important one that sometimes gets overlooked when it comes to being recognized as the best,” Sang said.

Selecting the first All-America team with the Ray Guy Prokicker.com brand was something that Sang wanted to make sure was done as accurately and fairly as possible. Prokicker.com rankings and ratings weighed into the selection process but only because that meant staff members had either worked with or watched these honorees perform.

“We’re proud of what these young men have accomplished for their high school teams and look for each one of them to play at the college level,” Sang said.

Eight different states were represented: Georgia (two), Texas (two), Florida (two), Kentucky, Virginia (two), Arizona, South Carolina and Arkansas.

Among the first-, second- and third-team selections three players – kickers Harrison Butker, Nick Tankersley and Patrick Sohrt – were selected as Ray Guy Prokicker.com All-Americans in two different categories.

Butker, a combo kicker for The Westminster Schools near Atlanta, was the first-team All-America kicker and third-team punter.

Sohrt, the left-footed kicker from St. Joseph High School in Victoria, Tex., was a second-team All-America selection as both a punter and kickoff specialist.

Tankersley, who helped Manatee High School capture the Florida Class 7A championship, was the second-team kicker and the third-team kickoff specialist. He was 18 of 26 on field goals and 68 of his 100 kickoffs went for touchbacks.

Ray Guy, the former All-Pro punter for the Oakland Raiders who is considered the greatest punter in NFL history, was proud to lend his name to the inaugural Ray Guy Prokicker.com High School All-Americans.

“These young men have proven that they’re the best of the best,” Guy said. “I’ve seen many of them personally in camps and know the work ethic that goes with being a great kicker or punter. These guys have that something special, that ‘it’ factor, that separates them from the pack. This is just a steppingstone for many of them. We look for them to do great things at the next level.”

First-team selections were:

punter: Thomas Meadows (6-0, 170, senior), Goochland, Va., Goochland High School, Purdue commit.Averaged 41.2 yards per punt for Goochland High School, the Division II Class A state runner-up. He had 13 punts inside the 20 and allowed only 14 return yards. He was first-team district, first-team region, All-Metro and participated in the Chesapeake Bowl where he punted five times for a 46-yard average.

Meadows credits his early experience with Prokicker.com into making him a top-notch punter.

“They really teach the techniques,” Meadows said. “I took a different approach than most kids my age did. Most kids my age went out and kicked the ball. I wanted to learn how to do it the right way. I wanted to establish my form. In my opinion, and in Rick Sang’s opinion, I’ve got some of the best form of anybody my age.”

Meadows will compete for the punting, kickoff and placekicking jobs when he gets to Purdue this summer.

“It depends on how I do in the offseason but I could be doing all three (for Purdue in the fall).”

kicker: Harrison Butker (6-3, 170, junior), Atlanta, Ga., Westminster.All-State First Team in Class AA Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia Sports Writers Association; All Metro, all classification, in Atlanta/South Fulton area; participated in Georgia Junior Bowl.

Butker made 16 of 17 field goals with only miss coming from 59 yards. Butker connected on a 51-yard field goal. He also had touchbacks on 47 of 59 kickoffs (80 percent) and also punted for a 39.5 average on 33 punts. Four of them were more than 50 yards with six downed inside the opponent’s 20.

 “It was an incredible season,” Butker said. “A lot of credit goes to the (long)-snappers and holders. I was lucky to have a kicking coach (Joe Sturniolo) and a head coach (Gerry Romberg) who liked to kick.”

KICKOFF SPECIALIST: Zach Burgy-VanHoose (6-1, 214, senior), Pikeville, Ky., Pikeville High School. Led high school team to Class A state semifinals by booming 85 percent of kickoffs for touchbacks. kicker for Kentucky in Border Bowl against Tennessee and was selected as kicker on the WMYT All-Mountain Team.

“It definitely is great to be able to end the high school season with that award. It makes you feel good; makes you feel like all the hard work is finally paying off.”

LONG-SNAPPER: Rey Higuera (5-11, 225, senior), Gilbert, Ariz., Perry High School. Arizona All-State 5A Division II first-team; All-Region, All-Section first team; snapped in Semper Fidelis Bowl; Prokicker.com national champion long-snapper for 2011.

“I’ve been long-snapping since I was a sophomore but I didn’t start getting competitive in it until the end of my junior year,” Higuera said. “Our team had a guy who was long-snapping and getting fairly good. We had heard about a coach (Ben Bernard) in Phoenix (Arizona Elite Long snapping in North Phoenix) who turned out a lot of Division I long-snappers. I really enjoyed playing football but was not the most athletically gifted person. I had to work to get where I am.”

Second-team selections were:

punter/KICKOFF SPECIALIST: Patrick Sohrt (6-2, 205, senior), Victoria, Tex., St. Joseph High School. Sohrt did a little bit of everything for his team in the kicking department but excelled on punt and kickoffs.

“I actually think my punting got better from last year. We had a 1-9 season, so we did punt a lot,” Sohrt said.

Despite St. Joseph’s record, Sohrt was named a first-team All-State punter. “I’d like to do punting and kickoffs (in college) but I’ll do whatever they ask me to do. I just want the chance.”

kicker: Nick Tankersley (6-1, 165, senior), Bradenton, Fla., Manatee High School. Tankersley had a huge season for Florida 7A state champion Manatee High School, which finished 13-2. “When you play that many games, it’s good experience and good exposure.” Tankersley made 18 of 26 field goals with a long of 53 yards, a school record. Four of his misses were from 50-plus yards. He also had 68 touchbacks on 100 kickoffs and punted 39 times for a net average of 37.18. He allowed only 28 punt return yards.

“He can do all of it (in the kicking game),” said Manatee assistant coach Dennis Stallard. “He’s probably more natural kicker/kickoff guy. He taught himself through what he learned at Prokicker.com camps. It’s not a natural motion for a kid with a soccer background.”

LONG-SNAPPER: Ike Powell (6-3, 240, sophomore), Tifton, Ga., Tift County High School. Powell was the Ray Guy Prokicker.com National Championship runner-up for 2011 and was the national winner in the underclassman division.He was All-Area in a four-county area. Powell is also the youngest Prokicker.com All-American selection and the top-ranked player in his class at long-snapper.

Here’s what Jacob Claycomb, a Prokicker.com staff member, said about Powell:

“Ike has always been really gifted. You can tell he works hard at it. He has his own target in the back yard. Most kids don’t know their exact score before you tell him. Ike threw the last ball and said ‘Oh, man, 24 points.’ He had a running clock in his head. Ike’s pretty much the whole package. He’s probably one of the better long-snappers I’ve had come through the camps. He’s such a hard worker.

During the national championships his fastest snap was .77 and his average was .83.

 Third-team selections were:

punter (tie): Mitchell Ludwig (6-0, 170, junior), Abingdon, Va., Abingdon High School. First-team district and regional punter, second-team kicker; Virginia preps.com AA First-Team All-State punter and Virginia Preps.com AA underclassmen First Team All-State punter; set five school kicking and punting records; one state of Virginia record submitted (single game six punts for 50.33 yard average).

Harrison Butker (6-3, 170, junior), Atlanta, Ga., Westminster (See information above).

kicker: Houston Ray (5-11, 170, junior), Van Buren, Ark., Van Buren High School.

KICKOFF SPECIALIST (tie): Sean Covington (6-1, 175, junior), St. Petersburg, Fla., St. Petersburg High School; Nick Tankersley(6-1, 165, senior), Bradenton, Fla., Manatee High School.

LONG-SNAPPER (tie): Mike Sulka (6-4, 240, senior), Bluffton, S.C., Bluffton High School; Fred McClimans (6-0, 205, senior), Flower Mound, Tex., Flower Mound High School.

HONORABLE MENTION

KICKERS

Nick Bartolotta, Fox High School (Mo.), class of 2012

Sean Covington, St. Petersburg High School (Fla.), class of 2013

Andy Ellington, Winfield High School (W.Va.), class of 2012

Pedro Ramello, Fishers High School (Ind.), class of 2012

Austin Jordan, Airport High School (S.C.), class of 2012

Trent Domingue, St. Paul’s School (La.), class of 2012

PUNTERS

Alex Barta, Clarkston High School (Mich.), class of 2012

Cliff Hurst, Centreville Academy (La.), class of 2012

Brian Bostrom, Kings Academy (Calif.), class of 2012

KICKOFF SPECIALISTS

Mark Grant, Mosley High School (Fla.), class of 2012

Ryan Frain, Scecina Memorial High School (Ind.), class of 2012

Harrison Butker, Westminster Schools (Ga.), class of 2013

Nick Bartolotta, Fox High School (Mo.), class of 2012

Carson Greifenkamp, Murray High School (Ky.), class of 2012

LONG-SNAPPERS

Chris Fitzpatrick, Anderson County High School (Ky.), class of 2012

Leonard Skubal, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) High School, class of 2012

Chad Leonard, Queens Creek High School (Ariz.), class of 2012

Travis Taulbee, Montgomery County High School (Ky.), class of 2012

Zack Hirth, Eureka High School (Mo.), class of 2012

Nick Walter, Pickerington Central (Ohio) High School, class of 2013

Billy Oldach, The Rivers School (Ma.), class of 2012

Brent Becenti, Ganado High School (Ariz.), class of 2012

BRADENTON, Fla. – Meet the winners of the Ray Guy Prokicker.com National kicking Championships.

After more than a month of regional competitions, the champions were decided following the Tampa area regional on Sunday.

The national winners in the Scholarship Division are:

-No. 1 kicker: Andrew Ferguson, Fort Bend, Tex., Christian Academy.

-No. 1 punters: Tyler Hull, junior college in North Carolina.

-No. 1 long-snapper: Rey Higuera, Perry High School in Arizona.

The national winners in the High School Division are:

-No. 1 kicker: Houston Ray, Van Buren High School in Arkansas.

-No. 1 punter: Dominic Webster, Clarence High School in New York.

-No. 1 long-snapper: Ike Powell, Tift County High School in Georgia.

In Sunday’s competition in Tampa two of the eventual national champions were winners.

In the Scholarship Division winners were: kicker Jonathan O’Hara of South Walton High School in Florida and punter Christian Madrigal of Lufkin High School in Texas.

The High School Division winners were: kicker Landon Bullock, Montgomery Bell Academy in Tennessee; punter Dominic Webster, Clarence High School in New York; and long-snapper Ike Powell of Tift County High School in Georgia.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

ATLANTA – Big numbers. Big instruction. Big talent.

Some of the nation’s top kickers, punters and long-snappers were part of the biggest Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp of the summer on July 23-24 where nearly 100 campers converged on The Lovett School.

Not only was there a wide range of talent on display but there was a wide range of ages.

Ike Powell, who will be a rising sophomore as a member of the 2014 class and ranked third in the 2010 Prokicker.com national competition, proved he was doing nothing but getting better, said camp instructor Jacob Claycomb .

“He’s got a really bright future,” Claycomb said. “Long-snapping is something he loves to do, something he wants to do. It’s not mom and dad pushing him to do it. It’s all him.”

Powell, who has attended previous Prokicker camps, said he walks away each time a better long-snapper. And there’s nothing he’d rather do on a football field – unless it’s crashing into an opponent from his defensive end position.

Powell is pure football, top to bottom.

Claycomb compared him to Nathan Theus, who this spring signed a full scholarship to be a long-snapper for Georgia. Theus was the top-rated long-snapper in the country. Claycomb said Powell has that kind of ability.

“He’ll be the next Nathan Theus,” Claycomb said. “He can sign somewhere at a dominant school. It’s so great to watch such a good athlete enjoy long-snapping like he does. This kid could do anything."

Powell already has the size – he’s 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds – and the work ethic to do great things, Claycomb said.

Powell will be long-snapping on the high school level for the first time this fall. He’s looking forward to the challenge.

As for work ethic, Powell said he doesn’t stop long-snapping until he gets 30 perfect snaps.

“However long that takes me,” he said.

Powell was 25 of 30 on the accuracy snapping competition, which should put him at or near the top of the current Prokicker.com national rankings.

Powell wasn’t the only talent on display in Atlanta though.

Michael Sulka, a rising senior, was another long-snapper with eye-popping ability. He’s from Bluffton, S.C., where he’s a long-snapper and also plays center and tackle for Bluffton High School.

“I play any of the bigger positions,” said the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder. “I want to long-snap in college. I came back (to the Prokicker camp) because I didn’t chart as well (at an earlier camp).”

Sulka is another dedicated long-snapper who said he throws 40 to 50 snaps on a daily basis.

“These Prokicker camps help so much,” he said. “The changed my grip a little and tweaked some other things. I could see immediate improvement. These guys are so hands-on with how they instruct."

“He was throwing a good ball,” Claycomb said. “Watching Mike snap, he’s definitely a lot better than the last time I saw him. He’s turned into a good long-snapper."

Kickers were also making impressions, especially a 14-year-old rising sophomore from Carrollton High School in Georgia.

Tyler Newsome showed off his strong leg by winning the Longest Field Goal competition with a 60-yard kick.

Newsome has been kicking since seventh grade but he’s looking forward to being a placekicker on the high school level to get more opportunities to boot field goals.

He said the Prokicker field goal competition got his adrenalin going.

“I had to keep calm and stay calm,” he said. “It was just like a game. Everybody was yelling and clapping. It was a lot of fun."

Newsome’s long-range kick wasn’t that much of a surprise since he was also putting kickoffs into the end zone on a regular basis.

Cedric Oglesby, a longtime Prokicker.com staff member and former NFL kicker for the San Diego Chargers, said Newsome had “a Division I caliber leg."

He said Newsome needs to be more consistent but along with the powerful leg has the right attitude about being a kicker and punter.

“He needs to get used to his body,” Oglesby said. “You’ve got to have that kickoff strength for the college coaches today. He went from a two-inch tee to a one-inch tee on the field goals. He needs to make that adjustment on kickoffs now.”

Newsome still has three years of high school which makes him someone to definitely watch, Oglesby said.

“He’s got a good future because he has the leg strength and the right attitude. But he needs to keep working."

Prokicker staff coach Taylor Long worked with a couple of kickers from the class of 2013 who put on the talent search.

Harrison Butker from Westminister High School in Georgia and Anthony Price from Marietta, Ga., both showed off “lively legs.”

Long said it’s easy to spot the prospects.

“You can just tell, sometimes even if you’re back is turned,” he said. “You hear that sound like a cannon going off. These guys have that. The potential is there."

While both Butker and Price have improving to do, Long said they both seemed determined to become college kickers someday.

“What’s impressive to me about Harrison was his kickoff leg,” Long said. “He led the camp with a 73-yard kickoff that had a 4.01 hang time. His motion is very fluid. The thing is, there’s so much more he can get into it. It’s still kind of raw, for lack of a better word."

Long said Butker would benefit from going to more Prokicker.com camps to develop his technique more. He said there’s no question the talent is there to mold.

“Great, great prospect,” he said. “He could develop into a Division I prospect. The talent is there. It’s up to how hard he wants to work."

Price was a similar kind of kicker, Long said, who could benefit from more instruction.

“They get to these camps and really don’t know anything about kicking it,” he said. “I’d love to be able to work with him about a week. He’s fully capable of going to a Division I school, too. Like anyone else, he has some flaws with technique."

Two other kickers with strong potential were Patrick McAlpin, a rising senior from Newnan (Ga.) High School and upcoming freshman Rodrigo Blankenship.

Prokicker staff coach Ryan Guy worked with McAlpin and Blankenship and was impressed with what he saw.

“Patrick’s got a strong leg and he’s real accurate with his technique,” Guy said. “I think he has a shot to play somewhere in college with his leg strength and all."

McAlpin made 90 percent of his field goals and averaged 60-plus on kickoffs.

Blankenship is a star on the rise, Guy said, with a big leg that gets both distance and hang time. He had one kickoff that traveled 67 yards and two others that went 62 and 63.

“He’s been coming to our camps the last three years and has made a lot of improvement,” Guy said. “He’s got a real strong kicking leg and is working hard to get better. It’s neat to see how he’s progressed."

Blankenship will be in his first year of high school football at Walton High School outside of Marietta, Ga.

Claycomb said he also had a first when he had a combo player who was a kicker and a long-snapper.

Stuart Peters, a rising sophomore in the 2014 class, came as a kicker but proved to be even better at long-snapping.

“He had his heart set on being a kicker,” Claycomb said. “He charted 23 of 30, which is tremendous. He’ll probably be in the top three or four of 2014. I told him to keep working on long-snapping, that’s where his future was.

“I was totally shocked (at his long-snapping). He’s the first kicker-long-snapper combo guy I’ve ever had."

ATLANTA – Competition results from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp at the Lovett School.

Long Distance Field Goal High School: Tyler Newsome, 60 yards

Long Distance Kickoff: Harrison Butker, 73 yards, 4.01

Hang Time Punt: Mac Miller, 35 yards, 4.67

Out of Bounds Punt Right: Troy Bray

Out of Bounds Punt Left: Troy Bray

Fastest Single Snap: Michael Sulka, .74

Most Accurate Snapper: Ike Powell, 25 of 30

TOP PROSPECTS

Michael Sulka, long-snapper, 2012

Ike Powell, long-snapper, 2014

Tyler Newsome, kicker, 2014

Anthony Price, kicker, 2013

Harrison Butker, kicker, 2013

Patrick McAlpin, kicker, 2012

Rodrigo Blankenship, kicker, 2015