One player that I have followed over the past few months is Paul Seiberling
of Lancaster High School. Paul has been making the rounds of kicking camps and
combines during the past few months looking for his chance to earn a
scholarship.
Paul knows that most colleges like kickers to
"walk-on" and then earn a scholarship. Paul doesn't have
a problem with that if the right school comes a calling.
Last month Paul kicked during the MSL in Cincinnati. That proved to be a
learning experience for him as Lancaster hasn't played on turf since Paul has
been kicking.
While Paul didn't have a great day at the MSL event, he also didn't have a
terrible one either. When the kicking part of MSL started, the weather was at
its worst. With winds and the worst conditions of the day many kickers saw their
problems. Yet Paul showed he had some skill and could hit from 35-45 yards out
and be consistent.
Paul excels in kickoffs with his placement kicking. In watching film of Paul,
he was able to pin teams into corners and shorten the field for his special team
squad. This often led to teams being stuck with short gains on kickoffs and
getting no farther than the 20.
In kicking extra-points and field goals Paul shows the ability to make an
above average number of kicks and also shows he’s got some distance. While Paul
isn't the longest hitter in the state, he may well be one of the
straightest.
Paul has worked hard over the past year. He's still working on a change in
his kicking style and that slowed his progress a little at the start. Since the
change Paul is seeing his average distance increase and feels the changes have
been for the best. While Paul knows he's a far way from where he wants to be, he
has the desire and work ethic to make it at the next level.
While kickers are the hardest athletes to get scholarships, we tell them to
work hard because you never know who may be watching. Over the years we have
seen were one kick can open a door and earn a scholarship for a kicker.
I would like to thank Paul and his mother for helping us get his information
and for allowing OPS to follow his progress over the past few months. You can
learn more about Paul and other Ohio players who are working hard for their
chance only at OhioPrepScene.com.