With fields closed, how’s an aspiring NFL kicker supposed to practice? Aim for the tree
Jonathan Song has already earned an entrepreneurial management degree and is set to graduate with a masters in supply chain management from TCU next month. A promising business career is seemingly on the horizon for a three-time Academic All-Big 12 recipient.
But the Horned Frogs’ former kicker isn’t interested in lining up internships and job interviews quite yet. Instead, Song is focused on pursuing an NFL career and is spending his days finding empty fields in remote locations around Fort Worth, aiming his kicks toward trees and telephone poles.
Hey, uprights aren’t easy to come by these days with most football fields shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been very difficult to find a place to train,” said Song, a Fort Worth All Saints product. “Every field I’m used to training on has been shut off with security. So I’m going to very, very remote areas by myself.”
For Song, it’s all worth it. He’s driven to make it as a professional even though being a kicker is arguably the most difficult job to land. After all, there’s only 32 jobs in the NFL and, even then, the job security isn’t all that great.
But facing those long odds is something that Song has embraced. He feels as though he can kick with the best of them.
This is a guy who left TCU as the school’s most accurate kicker at 90.9% (40-of-44) on field goals and with 69 consecutive PATs. He made 23-of-24 field-goal attempts last season. His only miss was a 42-yarder against Kansas.
“This type of challenge, knowing there’s only 32 spots in the NFL, is something that makes you want to work harder to be honest,” Song said. “Hopefully one day I can say that I was one of 32 kickers in the NFL. That’s why you work so hard each and every day.
“I embrace it. It’s a motivation factor to be one of those guys.”
The question mark with Song is whether he has enough leg strength to make it at the next level. The longest field goal he made last season was 40 yards. For his college career, it was 46 yards. As far as kickoffs, he had 25 last season with five touchbacks.
The Horned Frogs used freshman Griffin Kell mostly as the long-distance kicker last season. He kicked off 33 times with 12 touchbacks and had a long field goal of 52 yards.
For Song, though, he believes he has the leg strength required for the next level. He thinks TCU felt more comfortable keeping him in short-yardage situations given his injury history. (A torn quad sidelined him for the 2016 season and he battled a groin injury in 2017.)
“I had a roller coaster ride at TCU in terms of what field-goal distance I could do,” said Song, whose highlight was booting a 27-yard field goal to defeat Cal, 10-7, in overtime of the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl.
“But I’ve been working incredibly hard on my leg strength and I’m 100% fully fit.”
Asked what distance he’d feel comfortable at now, Song said: “I would say anything inside of 60 yards. Obviously wind plays a factor in that, whether you’re kicking with it or against it.
“I know there’s a lot of questions regarding my leg strength, but whenever a team asks me what I’ve got, I’m ready to prove it.”
Song went on to say he’s had little trouble adjusting to the bigger-sized NFL footballs compared to college, but now he prefers them. “There’s a much larger, bigger sweet spot to get more foot to it.”
In terms of draft prep, Song has been consulting with former NFL kicker Scott Blanton, who played for the Washington Redskins from 1996-98 and is now based in the Fort Worth area. Blanton believes Song has NFL potential because accuracy is the most coveted asset in the pro game, and that plays to Song’s strength.
The league has implemented rules designed to limit the number of kickoff returns such as allowing fair catches on kickoffs and starting on the 25-yard line instead of the 20. The days of needing a specific amount of hang time on a kickoff is essentially a thing of the past.
“I actually think Jonathan has a better chance now than 10 years ago,” Blanton said. “He’s very accurate and I think he can prove that he has the necessary leg strength on kickoffs. I think he’ll get a shot.
“But here’s what I tell all my guys. I’ve had guys that I didn’t think would make it in the NFL and they worked hard and ended up making it. I’ve had guys who were really, really talented and they don’t make it. That window of opportunity is very small. You might fly out to a tryout and get seven kicks. If you have a bad day, you might not get another chance.”
For Song, that one chance is worth it. So until then any vacant field with a lonely tree around Fort Worth is another potential spot for target practice.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
