By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

ATLANTA, Ga. – Harrison Butker is a special teams dream player.

The junior kicker from Atlanta, who had a season to remember for Westminster, Ga., has been selected as the National High School Player of the Year by Ray Guy Prokicker.com. Butker was the first-team kicker and third-team punter on the inaugural list of Ray Guy Prokicker.com All-Americans that was released earlier this week.

Butker, who is 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds, was first-team All-State in Class AA after making 16 of 17 field goals, a success rate of 94.1 percent. He also made his last dozen field goals to help Westminster to the second round of the playoffs. Butker also excelled in kickoffs and punting to round out a spectacular junior season.

Nine of his 16 field goals were from 41 yards or more and he made 20 of 22 extra points (one miss was the result of a bad hold). He drilled 47 touchbacks on 59 kickoffs and averaged 39.5 yards on 33 punts. Four of Butker’s punts were more than 50 yards with six downed inside the opponent’s 20. He averaged 67.3 yards per kickoff with a 3.87 hang time.

Former Arizona Cardinal kicker Cedric Oglesby of Prokicker.com’s staff watched Butker kick and punt at a Prokicker.com camp in Atlanta and came away impressed.

“I think he ended up with the best kickoffs of all the summertime (camps),” he said. “His hangtime and distance were great. He just seems like he’s a pretty athletic kid.”

Butker is also a humble kid. He praises teammates and coaches for his outstanding performance.

 “A lot of credit to the long-snappers and holders and my kicking coach (Joe Sturniolo),” Butker said. “In a game if you have a bad snap or a bad hold, you’re probably going to miss the kick. We practiced field goals a lot because, luckily, I played for a head coach (Gerry Romberg) who liked to kick field goals.”

Butker didn’t kick field goals as a sophomore but went to a Prokicker.com camp in Atlanta and found he could do it.

“That camp jump-started me and got my eyes open toward kicking,” he said.

Butker’s only miss came from 59 yards out in a game at the Georgia Dome. “It would have probably been good from 54 or 55 (yards),” he said. “It was the fourth kick of the year and made me three for four.”

Butker wouldn’t miss again. He was eight-for-eight from 40 to 49 yards and also hit a 51-yard attempt.

Butker isn’t just a kicker or football player. He’s an athlete who stars in three sports at Westminster – soccer, football and basketball – and also excels in the classroom. He carries an A average while receiving honors in several Advanced Placement courses.

 “Westminster is a great school where academics are a big thing,” he said. “It’s hard with three sports trying to keep up with schoolwork but I’ve been managing. Education is first.”

His parents, Harrison and Elizabeth, were both former soccer players so he naturally leaned in that direction when he was younger. Butker has been a defense starter in soccer since he was a freshman and he used to play club soccer but now focuses more time on football where he hopes to be a kicker in college after he graduates.

Oglesby said Butker is built more like a punter because of his length.

“With the length of his leg he could be a good punter as well,” he said. “punter is something you mature into a lot of times. He can be an outstanding punter if he puts some time in this summer.”

Butker’s season didn’t go unrecognized by the media. He was voted first-team kicker in Class AA over Alabama commit Adam Griffith, causing raised eyebrows throughout the state of Georgia.

“Adam Griffith (of Calhoun, Ga.) is No. 1 on Scout.com, I beat him out,” Butker said. “Adam said I had the better season. He wasn’t too angry about it.”

Butker played in the Georgia Junior Bowl where he punted well and had a kickoff that carried seven yards deep into the end zone – and they kicked off from the 35-yard line. However, because of commitments to basketball practice and games, he missed most of the practice sessions that week.

Butker is dedicated to whatever is in front of him. He’s also thankful for coaching help from Sturniolo and Romberg.

“He’s very passionate about kicking,” Butker said of Sturniolo. “He helped me all last summer and all through the year. A lot of schools don’t have anybody to lean on but I have him. The reason why I got to be where I am is because of him. Coach Romberg is a head coach who is very willing to kick field goals. I appreciate his faith in me.”