DraftSeason: Art, you are widely considered to be one of the, if
not the top
kicker in the Nation. What is the strongest part of
your game: your leg
strength or your accuracy?
Art: I would have to say my accuracy is the strongest part
of my
game. I feel that I have plenty of leg strength but
the important part
is to hit it straight to put it through the uprights.
DraftSeason: What goes through your mind right before you
attempt a crucial field
goal?
Art: David Akers of the Philadelphia Eagles told me to
treat every
field goal like it is a crucial field goal because you
never know how it
can affect the outcome of a game. That is where my
preparation and
practice habits come into play, just sticking to my
routine and knowing
that I have done the same thing before over and over
again.
DraftSeason: What did winning the Lou Graza Award mean to you?
Art: It meant a lot because it was a goal that I said and I
had
worked hard to achieve it. I was up against some great
kickers (Garrett
Hartley of Oklahoma and John Vaughn of Auburn) and
just being named a
finalist was an accomplishment in itself. Winning the
award was just
icing on the cake.
DraftSeason: Is there one kick that you've missed that you wish you could have
back more than any other?
Art: I wish that I could have all my misses back but one
kick stands
out in my mind more than any other. My first field
goal attempt my
sophomore year I missed a 21 yarder against Kentucky
right before
halftime. Missing that kick taught me to really focus
in on the mental
part of kicking. It really helped pave the way for the
rest of the
season.
DraftSeason: How did you end up becoming a kicker?
Art: I just fell right into it. I don't have a soccer
background and
just started kicking the ball around in the backyard
when I was in
middle school. There was a brick wall that had two
trees in front of it
that formed an H and I would just try and kick it over
the wall between
the trees. My brother Harrison would hold the ball for
me and I started
to enjoy kicking and kept doing it all through high
school.
DraftSeason: There a lot of really good kickers this year, with
you, Alexis Serna,
and Brandon Coutou, considered the top 3. In your
opinion, who is the
best and why?
Art: They are both outstanding kickers and I really enjoy
watching
both of them kick. I got to meet Alexis when we played
Oregon State two
years ago and he is a great guy and has tremendous
focus when he is out
on the field. Brandon has done an excellent job
kicking at Georgia and
has excellent technique and confidence. They both have
been consistent
for the last couple of years and are big assets to
their teams. I
expect both of them to have a great season.
DraftSeason: What percent of kicking would you classify as
mental, and what
percent is physical?
Art: I would say that 90 % of kicking is mental and only 10
% is
physical. At this level everyone can kick a ball high
and far but it is
the mental game that is the most important. How you
prepare during
practice and knowing your technique is what allows you
to execute on
gameday.
DraftSeason: And finally Art, as a kicker, how would you rate
your tackling
skills? Or do you try to stear clear?!
Art: I would rate them about a 7 on a 1-10 scale. In the
past the
kickers/punters have done tackling drills with the
defense to work on
our tackling form, but it is much different in the
game when that
returner is going full speed at you. I am not the
fastest kicker out
there so I try to work the returner to the sideline
and hopefully get
him out that way, but it's a little harder than it
seems.
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