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

ARLINGTON, Tex. – Competition results from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp in the Dallas area on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Long Distance Field Goal High School: Ron Reid, 58 yards

Long Distance Kickoff: Ryan Parker, 82 yards (national record), 3.63

Hang Time Punt: Timothy Willett, 35 yards, 4.37

Out of Bounds Punt Right: Alex Pappas

Out of Bounds Punt Left: Christopher Wier

Fastest Single Snap: Fred McClimans, 0.74

Most Accurate Snapper: Fred McClimans, 22 of 30

TOP PROSPECTS

Fred McClimans, long-snapper, 2012

Patrick Sohrt, punter-kicker, 2012

Michael Sylvester, punter-kicker, 2013

Ryan Parker, kicker, 2012

Ron Reid, kicker, 2014

Christian Madrigal, kicker/punter, 2012

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.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com Editor

WOODLANDS, Tex. - The inaugural Ray Guy/Prokicker.com national camp high school rankings are out following last weekend’s competition in Houston at The Woodlands High School.

Patrick Sohrt, Christian Madrigal, Anthony Bruno and Weston Gray were among the top kickers in the camp while Sohrt, Madrigal and Tyler Engelbart were the top punters.

Sohrt boomed a camp record 78-yard kickoff and had an average kickoff distance of 68.5 to lead the kickers. He was followed by Bruno, who had a best of 63 yards and averaged 58. Gray was anked third after averagein 59.75 with a best kick of 69 yards.

Sohrt and Bruno tied for the best hangtime on kickoffs at 4.04. Bruno and Gray’s field goal accuracy was 70 percent while Sohrt’s was 60 percent.

The top punter rankings had Sohrt, Madrigal and Englebert. Sohrt and Madrigal boomed 47-yard punts. Sohrt’s average distance was 37.5 while Madrigal’s was 36.10. Sohrt average hangtime was 4.33 with a best of 4.75.

The top three long-snappers are Clark Gardner, Traves Liles and Zachary Dunn.

Sohrt, Madrigal and Gray were the top kicker-punter combos and the top punter/kickoff specialists as well. Sohrt, Madrigal and Bruno were 1-2-3 in kickoff specialists.

Other individual awards:

Fastest single snap - Zach Dunn

Hangtime punt - Patrick Sohrt

Out of bounds punt winners – Zach Rosenberg (L) and Marshall Legard (R)

Long distance field goal - Ryan Parker

Long distance kickoff - Patrick Sohrt

Most accurate snapper - Zach Dunn

The next prokicker.com kicking camp will be May 7-8 in Bradenton, Fla. Go to prokicker.com for early registration.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com Editor

WOODLANDS, Tex. – Not bad for starters.

The first camp of the summer season for the Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy proved to be a booming success.

Literally.

Thundering kicks from top college prospects Patrick Sohrt and Christian Madrigal caught the attention of everyone at camp at The Woodlands High School.

Ken Olson, a senior staff instructor, said Sohrt and Madrigal were good combination kids, meaning they can place-kick and punt.

“For colleges, kickoff is what going’s to separate the kids,” Olson said. “That’s the reason I gave Rick (Sang, the camp director) their names. Both of them have strong legs and are great kickoff kids. About 5 percent of the kids we see the whole summer can do the things they did.”

Sohrt, who will be a senior this fall, is from Victoria, Tex. And Madrigal, who will also be a senior, is from Luskin, Tex.

Sohrt had one kickoff that traveled 78 yards in the air with a 3.8 hang time, Olson said. “That’s pretty remarkable. He’s tall and has great leverage advantage. He climbs up through the ball. There aren’t many kids you see do that.”

Sohrt, who is 6-foot-2, is long and lanky while Madrigal (5-11, 195 pounds) is more stocky and more powerfully built.

Madrigal had the same kind of kickoff distance as Sohrt.

“Both have fast feet, which is the key to kicking,” Olson said. “They both have that good leverage advantage.”

Sohrt had kickoff distances of 65 (twice), 62 and 78. He also had four punts with better than 4.6 hang time and good distance.

“He had eight balls in the four-second range,” Olson said. “He can be a punter-kickoff guy. He’s tall and lanky. He’s a punter that can kick off. You see a lot of those guys on Saturday and Sunday who can do that. Madrigal is a field goal specialist and a kickoff guy.”

The kickers both used a 1-inch tee but Olson said the adjustment to grass wouldn’t be a problem for either of them.

“Being the first one (camp), the talent is going to be good because everybody is trying to prove themselves,” Olson said. “Those two stand out. These guys can kick on Saturday.”

While Olson and Madrigal were the top prospects, there were many others who participated in the Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy’s inaugural camp of the summer season. The camp was a sellout and kickers enjoyed ideal weather.

“The camps are definitely a showcase,” Olson said. “They want to come here and do the best they can. It’s all about competition. You’re seeing people performing before you perform. The camps are also about the coachability side of it. You see the coachability of the kids and their character.”

Olson said players are shown different and often better ways of doing little things at the camp that will make them improved kickers and a better prospect for college.

“We’re all trying to make them better and grow,” he said. “We want to promote them and get them out in the open. There are plenty of colleges out there, regardless of sizes. You don’t have to be the very best one in the camp.”

Olson said the Prokicker.com camps are the best instructional camps in the business. The staff includes many former college and professional kickers.

Olson has been with Prokicker.com camps for the past seven years. He was a place-kicker at Salisbury State in Maryland who went on to play for the USFL with Washington. Olson also kicked for the Buffalo Bills during the 1986 strike season and was in camp with the 49ers and Bills. He kicked two years for Los Angeles in the Arena League. Olson was the kicking coach for the Chicago Bears for seven years.

He is currently a high school football coach in the Phoenix area and a regular instructor at the prokicker.com camps. The next camp is May 7-8 in the Tampa/Bradenton, Fla., area. Go to prokicker.com for registration information.