Blake Haubeil was one of the top high school placekickers in the nation in 2015 and 2016. Now he’s a freshman at Ohio State competing with redshirt junior Sean Neurnberger for a starting spot.
As a fan, any time you have a freshman competing to be a starter, you might want to take notice. You also might want to get a little bit nervous. The good news, however, is that the last time the Buckeyes started a freshman kicker, they won a national title.
Haubeil was ranked the No. 1 kicker in the nation by 247Sports last year. He was named First-Team All-American by USA Today, and was a two-time All-State selection as well.
Haubeil went 17-for-22 on field goals for his career and 89-of-91 on extra points. He made all 56 of his extra point attempts as a senior, and six of his nine field goal attempts.
What to Like
His breakdown from KohlsKicking.com gives you a pretty good idea of what to like.
Haubeil is a very talented FG Kicker. The lift on his FG’s is college ready right now. He has competed at multiple Kohl’s events in 2016 and shown he is a trustworthy kicker. He has been ahead of his age ever since he came to his first Kohl’s camp and won the Eastern Showcase as a sophomore. In May of 2016 he made 9 of 10 FG in the charting phase of camp and was dominant in the drill work and competition phase. His FG range was 5-10 yards longer than everyone else at that camp. Haubeil does need to continue to work on transferring his energy better on KO’s but there is no reason to believe he can’t go into Ohio State as a freshman and compete on FG.
Haubeil had one of the best legs in the nation the last couple of years, booting a 61-yard field goal as a junior.
The Potential
You don’t need to be a kicking expert to see the potential with Blake Haubeil. And since I am no kicking expert, I’ll just have to use expert-sounding terms instead.
Haubeil’s kick radius and swing trajectory are elite. The torque on his foot-connection is rare and brings suddenness and explosion to the ball. His follow through is true, and he is an uphill thumper. His release arc exhibits tremendous hip flexion and pliability that will stiffen as he gets older, but for now the looseness adds extra oomph to his kicks.
The Expectations
Any time a kicker is given a scholarship he is expected to eventually earn a starting spot. He is also expected to compete for a position immediately, and that is the case with Blake Haubeil this year for the Ohio State football team. He will battle fourth-year junior Sean Nuernberger once camp opens. Nuernberger has been up and down during his career, and redshirted last season due to injury.
Given Nuernberger’s lack of consistency to this point — Urban Meyer said he was just “okay” this spring — this position is wide open. Meyer doesn’t care who his kicker is, he just wants to be able to trust him.
The Bottom Line
Blake Haubeil will enter camp expecting to fight for a starting job. As Meyer always says, football is a very evaluation-friendly business, and kicking might be the friendliest of any position because either the kick goes through or it doesn’t.
Experience counts, but results count more. If the battle is even during camp, then maybe Meyer sides with the veteran. If it isn’t, then Meyer won’t hesitate to go with the rookie.
Either way, the competition will make both kickers better and the Buckeyes should be the beneficiary whichever way it turns out.
