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.

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

punting, kicking and long-snapping commitments and signings.

Abbott, Brooks            K        Virginia Tech

Adams, Kennan          K         Colorado State

Aguayo, Roberto         K         Florida State

Antol, Josh                 LS       Navy

Appleby, Joshua          K        Louisville

Ausherman, Dylan       K        Oregon

Ayers, Chris                K        Florida International

Ball, Alex                    K        Lamar

Barber, Collin              K        Georgia

Barneson, Tom            K        NDSU

Barta, Alex                 K/P      Navy 

Abbott, Brooks            K        Virginia Tech

Adams, Kennan          K        Colorado State

Aguayo, Roberto         K        Florida State

Antol, Josh                 LS      Navy

Joshua Appleby          K        Louisville

Ausherman, Dylan      K        Oregon

Ayers, Chris               K        Florida International

Ball, Alex                   K        Lamar

Barber, Collin              K        Georgia

Barneson, Tom            K        NDSU

Barta, Alex                  K/P     Navy  

Baumann, Shane         LS       Western New Mexico

Beatty, Cason              K        Florida State

Bell, Devon                  K        Mississippi State

Bleck, Nolan               K         Princeton

Bohnart, Camden         K        Drake

Bowlin, Michael           K        Washington State

Brennan, Duncan         K        Colgate

Brewer, Cale               K        Army

Bruno, Nick                 K        Stephen F. Austin

Bullock, George           K        Tennessee

Canady, Kameron       LS       Portland State

Carr, Jacob                 LS       North Greenville

Cervenka, Franklyn      K        Wagner

Chapman-Brown, Cayle K       New Mexico State

Cincotta Matt              LS       Marshall

Coluzzi, Ron               K        Central Michigan

Cooke, Colby              K        Vanderbilt

Coons, Travis              K        Washington

Cronin, Kevin              K        Michigan State

Daly, Scott                LS       Notre Dame

Decell, Cameron         K        Rice

DePalma, John           LS      West Virginia

Domingue, Trent         K/P     LSU

Donovan, Kolton         LS      Southern Utah

Dunavant, Brad           K       Toledo

Durkee, Korey           K/P      Washington

Eads, William            LS       Middle Tennessee

Fairbairn, Ka'imi          K        UCLA 

Federico, Kyle            K        Rutgers

Ferguson, Luke           K         Central Arkansas

Enderson, Eric,          K         Delaware

Ferguson, Reid          LS        LSU

Fischer, Evan             K         Michigan State

Fischer, TJ                 K         Carthage

Fisher, Sandy             K         Concordia University

Fitzpatrick, Chris        LS        Northwestern

Foltz, Sam                 P          Nebraska

Forrister, Justin          LS         Georgia State

Foster, Joseph           K           Newberry College

Foster, Landon           K/P       Kentucky

Frain, Ryan                K/P       Illinois

Frazell, Connor           K          Pittsburg St

Freibert, Ralph            K/P      West Point

Frix, Matt                   LS        Air Force

Gammill, Jimmy          K          Penn

Gleeson, Tim              K          Wyoming

Gollnick, Robert          P          Stetson University

Grant, Mark                K/P       Western Alabama

Grassman, Tyler          K         Buffalo

Grebe, Austin              K         Navy

Greenberg, Harrison     K        Montana

Griffith, Adam              K        Alabama

Griggs, Paul                K         Purdue

Grigsby, James           K         Eastern Kentucky

Gruettner, Jordan         K        Wisconsin

Hardin, Austin              K        Florida

Harris, Christopher       K        Tennessee Tech

Hawkins, Ryan            K        Northern Arizona

Heck, Hunter               K        Air Force

Hohenstein, Greg        LS       Bowling Green

Hughes, AJ                 K         Virginia Tech

Hurrell, Jake                LS       Missouri

Hutchinson, Jimmy       P        Auburn

Johnson, Austin           K        Southern Illinois

Johnson, Jace              K         Idaho

Jordan, Austin             K/P      The Citadel

Jordan, Nick                K        Texas

Kaiser, Mike               LS       New Mexico State

Karlson, Randy           K         Washington & Lee

Keaton, Zack              K         Robert Morris

Keeton, Caleb             K         Lindsey Wilson

Kilcullen, Austin          P         Abilene Christian

Key, Ryan                  K         Troy

King, Josh                  K         McMurry University

King, Taylor                K         Wyoming

Kornbrath, Connor      K/P       Iowa

Lambert, Josh             K        West Virginia

LaMontagne, Daniel   LS        Furman

Leenders, Keith          K         Montana State

Leininger, Cole            K        California

Lindsay, Spencer        K         Nebraska

Lopez, Austin             K         San Jose St.

Lunsford, John            K         Liberty

Martin, Micah             LS       N. Carolina Central

Martin, Ross                K        Duke

McMorrow, Seamus     K        San Diego State

Meadows, Thomas      K/P      Purdue

Melchiori, Anthony      K          Kent State

Morgan, Marshall        K          Georgia

Neighbors, Hayden     LS        Campbell University

Netten, Cole                K         Iowa State

Norton, Ryan               K        Syracuse

Oberkrom, Jadem        K         TCU 

Oehrle, Drew               K         Air Force

Overbaugh, Jeff           LS        San Diego State

Owens, Garrett           K         Oregon State

Palmer, Christopher     K/P     Bowie State

Pappanastos, Andy     K         Mississippi

Patterson, Kaleb          K         Miami of Ohio

Patton, Drew               K         Campbellsville

Perry, Ethan                K         TCU

Pinion, Bradley            K         Clemson

Pontius, Taylor            K         Northern Alabama

Puyol, Bobby              K         Connecticut

Reisner, David             K         Naval Academy

Riggs, Brody               K         Maryland

Riley, Tyler                 K         Florida A&M

Rodwell, Ryan            K         Georgia Tech

Rose, Nicholas           K         Texas

Russell, Jack              K         Wisconsin

Schmidt, Kyle            K/P      Ball State

Schwettman, Garrett   K         Western Kentucky

Schwarz, Daniel          K         Tulsa

Scott, Will                  K         Troy

Senne, Grant             K          Brown

Simpson, Trent           K         Iowa Western

Skubal, Len               LS        Boston College

Smith, Jon David        K         Southern Oregon

Sohrt, Patrick            K/P      Texas Tech

Solis, Benjamin          K         Stony Brook

Sollenberger, Kevin     K         Towson State

St. Germain, Nick       K         South Carolina

Sunanon, Aleem         K         So. Alabama- Mobile

Tankersley, Nick        K/P       Carson-Newman University

Taulbee, Travis            LS       Eastern Kentucky

Voss, Gavin                K         St. Joseph College

Wahlstrom, Easton     LS       Arizona State

Wale, Sean                K         Boise State

Weldon, Justin           K         Sacramento State

White, Marcus            K         UC Davis

Wickwar, Colby          K         Missouri State

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

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tyler Hull sits atop the Scholarship Division punting leaderboard after the weekend competition in the Ray Guy Prokicker.com National Championship regional at Wingate College.

Hull, who is from Mount Airy, N.C., graduated from high school in 2010 and is punting at a small college.

“He’s at a small college looking to go (to Division I),” said Prokicker.com staffer Matt Reagan. “He’s got a big leg. He could step in tomorrow at a Division I school and start.”

Hull averaged 44.6 in distance and 4.17 in hang time to easily outdistance the competition in the Scholarship Divsion.

Jordan Roach (39.6, 3.71), Michael Styles (37.9, 3.31), Eric Fogle (31.5, 3.45) and Dalton Hall (32.3, 3.29) are currently in the top five. Roach had the day’s best punt at 60 yards and best hang time at 4.88.

In the High School Division, the winner was Ben Kepley, who averaged 39.2 and 3.61. The rest of the top five was Cody Lee (30.7, 3.8), Hunter Sumner (31.3, 3.62) and Rodrigo Blankenship (31.4, 3.58).

Kepley launched one 50-yard punt while Lee had the day’s best hang time at 4.36.

The next kicking competition will be Nov. 26-27 in Arlington, Tex. There will be 26 in the kicking competition and 27 in the punting and long-snapping competition.

Regional competitions will also be held in Tempe, Ariz. (Dec. 3-4) and Bradenton, Fla. (Dec. 17-18).

BY CHADD CRIPE / Iidaho Statesman.com

Boise State redshirt freshman Dan Goodale and junior-college transfer Michael Frisina have been almost inseparable in the competition to replace Kyle Brotzman as the Broncos’ kicker.

Goodale held a wide margin coming out of spring ball but Frisina, who transferred from Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., in January, came on strong during fall camp.

“Whatever happens, whether it’s me or him at the end of the day,” Frisina said, “I think Bronco fans are going to be able to feel comfortable when we go out onto the field that we’re going to come away with three points.”

The Broncos haven’t had an opening at kicker since 2007, when Brotzman won the job. He started for four years and became the highest-scoring kicker in Football Bowl Subdivision history.

Special teams coach Jeff Choate has tracked every kick by Goodale, a walk-on from Timberline High, and Frisina throughout fall practice. Frisina held a two-make lead going into Thursday’s practice.

Scholarship true freshman Jake Van Ginkel is expected to redshirt.

Goodale and Frisina will get another chance to prove themselves Saturday when the Broncos go through a situational scrimmage that focuses on special teams.

“They are very, very close — in a good way,” Choate said.

One possible factor in the decision is Frisina’s lack of leg strength. His range stops at about 42 yards. That’s fine for field goals, but the kicker also needs to serve as the backup kickoff specialist for road games.

“We’re pretty much the same kicker,” said Frisina, a walk-on from Brea, Calif. “(Goodale) has just got a little more distance and a little more height on me on his kicks.

“… My strength is accuracy. Forty-two yards and in … they’ve told me that’s where the money’s going to be made. We’ve got to make those kicks.”

Frisina was 20-for-31 on field-goal attempts in two years at Saddleback. He has been kicking since his freshman year of high school.

He started at quarterback as a high school senior but decided at a young age that he would need to kick to have a future in football because of his size. He’s just 5-foot-5.

“I found out I was good at it, so I decided to pursue it as a lifelong dream to play college football,” Frisina said.

HERE’S A LOOK AT BSU’S OTHER SPECIALISTS:

Æ punter: Senior Brad Elkin has merged his natural power with consistency this fall. He was the starter as a true freshman in 2007 but lost the job to Brotzman and never got it back. Elkin redshirted last season so he could start this year.

Æ Kickoff specialist: Sophomore Trevor Harman, who also is the backup punter, has improved his power and consistency since last year. Choate expects his hang time to help the Broncos improve their kickoff coverage.

“He’s got one of the strongest legs in the country,” Frisina said. “We’re just trying to refine his technique to make him more consistent. I believe he could have 20 to 30 touchbacks.”

Æ Long snapper: Junior Chris Roberson, a former walk-on who was given a scholarship last year, enters his third season as the starter. Senior linebacker Byron Hout is the backup.

Æ Holder: Sophomore quarterback Joe Southwick takes over from former wide receiver Austin Pettis. Freshman wide receiver Matt Miller is the backup.

Æ Kickoff returners: Tailbacks Doug Martin (senior), D.J. Harper (senior) and Malcolm Johnson (sophomore) and wide receivers Chris Potter (junior) and Mitch Burroughs (junior) will be involved. Martin is the most experienced, averaging 29.7 yards on six returns in 2009.

Æ Punt returners: Potter, Burroughs and possibly redshirt freshman cornerback Bryan Douglas and true freshman wide receiver Dallas Burroughs will be involved. Petersen, who coaches returners, says he doesn’t have a starter, but Potter ranked 13th in the nation with a 13.3-yard average last year. Burroughs averaged 15.9 yards on eight returns.

The Broncos have returned six kicks for touchdowns in the past three seasons — four punts and two kickoffs — and expect to do some damage this year, too.

“There’s guys that can make magic happen at any time,” Hout said of the returners. “Any time they’re back there and we get an opportunity to field the ball, we think we’re going to be looking to put some points up on the board.”

Æ Special-teams stalwarts: Among the players expected to form the core of the special teams units are senior safety Travis Stanaway, senior nickel Hunter White, sophomore nickel Jonathan Brown, senior safety Cedric Febis, junior safety Hazen Moss, redshirt freshman safety Jeremy Ioane and true freshman linebacker Blake Renaud.

The biggest weakness last year was kickoff coverage. Boise State opponents started on average at their own 32-yard line after kickoffs; the Broncos’ goal is to keep them inside the 25.

The Broncos finished 23rd in the nation in kickoff returns, 16th in punt returns and 60th in net punting.

Choate wants to finish in the top 25 in each of those categories.

“When we’ve done that, we’ve been really, really good at helping our team win,” he said.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com Editor

BRADENTON, Fla. – Some powerful kickoff legs were on display Saturday during the second summer camp for the Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy at Manatee High School.

Top prospects Sean Covington and Nick Tankersley unleashed kickoffs of 76 and 75 yards and Mark Grant nailed a 70-yard kickoff during competition.

Covington, 16, is a junior-to-be at St. Petersburg (Fla.) High School, who has spent most of his life on a soccer field. He started playing football in seventh grade and has been a combo kicker for his high school since ninth grade.

“I’ve been going to camps since I was a freshman,” he said. “I’ve been to the Ray Guy Pro kicker camp three times.”

Covington (6-2, 188) is one of the top-ranked kickers in the class of 2013 and he’s also a highly ranked goalie in soccer.

“I like football but have been playing soccer my whole life,” he said. “I’m starting to like football a little more than soccer.”

Top instruction

Tankersley, 17, is a senior-to-be at Manatee High School, where last weekend’s Prokicker.com camp took place. He blasted a 75-yard kickoff but said that was far from his best all-time effort. Tankersley said he boomed a kickoff for 82 yards earlier last week.

“You can’t turn down a camp of this caliber,” he said. “I’ll come out anytime they’re in this area. Being out here with the caliber of guys (instructors) they have can only make you better.”

Among the instructors at the camp were NFL players Graham Gano, the kicker for the Washington Redskins and Brandon Fields, the punter and placeholder for the Miami Dolphins.

Tankersley (6-1, 155) said he has been blessed with good leg speed, which has aided his long kickoffs. He’s also a combo player who punts for Manatee.

“I played soccer as far as it could take me and my soccer background is starting to pay off,” he said.

Tankersley said he played safety as a freshman but broke his arm on his first tackle. Then it was back to punting and kicking. He said the pressure of competition is where he thrives.

“I feed off that,” he said.

The Prokicker.com camp has been a confidence booster for Tankersley as well. “I wish we could have this every weekend,” he said. “The week after this I’m always at my best. I’m like ‘I want them back.’’’

'Strong leg for kickoffs'

Grant, 17 and a senior-to-be, had a 70-yard kickoff with a 4.19 hang time. He is from Panama City, Fla., where he plays for Mosely High School.

He wants to play college football. “I sent out 55 to 60 recruiting packets throughout the southeast,” he said. “I’ve had a couple of responses.”

Grant has been playing behind a Division I kicker who is now at LSU. He will be Mosley’s kicker this fall.

“I’ve been on the varsity since I was a sophomore,” he said. “I feel like my strength is either punting or kickoff. I can be fairly accurate (on field goals). I’ve got a strong leg for kickoffs.”

Grant said the Prokicker.com camps have made him a better player. This is his fourth camp with Prokicker.com.

“I think my favorite thing about the camp is the personal attention that I get,” he said. “If I do something wrong, a coach is right there telling me what I’m doing. If I miss a field goal, I need to be able to correct it myself.”

Grant said he has learned from experience the value of a good punter. In one game last season, he unleashed punts of 52 and 65 yards to turn around field position.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com Editor

Nathan Chapman, who runs ProkickAustralia.com programs and has had several Division I punters signed to scholarships, has learned a lot from the instructors at Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy.

And vice-versa.

The technique of the drop punt that is used in the NFL is being taught at the Prokicker.com camps.

“You used to drop the ball nice and flat,” said Prokicker.com camp director Rick Sang. “They drop the nose down a little punt where you hit the bottom tip of the ball where it goes end over end. That’s why it’s so popular in the NFL and the pro guys are learning to do it. It eliminates the guessing, so you have a lot more control and placement.”

Sang said the Australian kickers are “like magicians. It’s fun to watch them at a camp.”

Chapman send sang a DVD several years ago and came over and trained with Ray Guy. Chapman was trying to get a tryout with an NFL team, which he eventually did. He was in the Green Bay Packers training camp in 2004 and kicked in three preseason games. Chapman considers kicking in front of 70,000 fans one of his greatest thrills.

Chapman’s Prokickaustralia.com program is for potential college and NFL players. He was an Australian Rules professional player for 10 years and selected No. 2 overall in the 1992 national draft.

The instructors at the Prokicker.com camps teach the end-over-end punting technique – the only kicking camp that provides that skill set.

For information on the next Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy, visit prokicker.com.