Alex Steigerwald

While most of the UT football players run drills and pound pads during practice, Alex Steigerwald does nothing but legwork. The Rockets kicker arrives early, tees up the ball and lets it fly … over and over again.

He’s in sight of an NCAA record for best career field goal percentage (95.2), needing 24 more attempts as of Oct. 4 to qualify, but ESPN projected on its Web site only 13 attempts remaining this season. Nevertheless, Steigerwald said he’s only aiming for the goal posts.

“If that’s still going, I’m not sure, but I don’t pay attention to it,” he said. “You go in not thinking about how many attempts you’re going to have or all that; you just go in and know when the coach calls your number that you’re ready to go in and kick your  field goals when they’re needed.”

Steigerwald also mildly acknowledges a streak of 13 consecutive field goals in 2007, earning him the best season percentage of all college kickers with at least 10 attempts, as well as a spot on the second-team All-MAC. He stretched his career mark to a MAC record of 23 in a row then missed an attempt against Ball State on Oct. 4 in the Rockets’ 31-0 loss.

In typical Steigerwald fashion, however, he shrugged off the setback and prepared to travel to Ann Arbor for a showdown against powerhouse Michigan, an appearance he described as a dream game. With a fresh start, he’s been studying film to refine his technique, “tweaking” his swing to help prevent slicing and hooking and paying attention to what kickers call “body crunch.”

“The streak was always in the back of my head; it was never a big thing. I was just out there doing my job,” he said. “It’s good to get the miss out during the season and come back strong. It’s always about looking at the next kick.”

One miss in his last 24 attempts hardly fazes head coach Tom Amstutz, who said Steigerwald is sure to bounce back fast. Amstutz cited at least one miss most every weekend in the NFL, adding Steigerwald’s stats and work ethic prove his worth as a kicker and a competitor.

Amstutz met the Mayfield Village native, who walked into a UT football camp unknown, and eventually offered him a scholarship. The move continued a tradition of solid UT kickers, including Jason Robbins — who also enjoyed a perfect season — and Todd France.

“Toledo’s been very fortunate; we’ve had a good run of outstanding kickers, and Alex is another one who’s done a great job for us and is the kind of guy who’s always there for the team and works hard and does his job,” Amstutz said.

Steigerwald, a junior majoring in communication, looks forward to one more year as a Rocket, but has yet to focus on the possibility of a career in the pros. He’s been busy with his collegiate experience, which he said is a more serious, more business-like approach than high school.

It’s still a good time, he explained, but there’s constant “grinding” to improve, which teaches time management and makes him a better student and more mature person.

“[Playing professionally] is on my mind and it would be nice to continue on kicking, but it’s not a big deal,” Steigerwald said. “I know I had a great four years at the University of Toledo kicking for the Rockets.”

This entry was posted on Friday, October 10th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under College Football, Sports.
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