A walk-on Bowling Green kicker hit a 53-yard field goal to earn a scholarship
Kickers have one of the most stressful jobs in all of sports. In a tight, back-and-forth game, the outcome often comes down to whether or not your kicker can stay calm under pressure and put one through the uprights.
At Bowling Green, players can rest assured that their kicker can keep his composure, as earlier this week coach Mike Jinks gave kicker Jake Suder the most high-pressure proposal imaginable to a college athlete, challenging him to hit a 53-yard field goal for a full scholarship.
You can watch the attempt play out below.
The challenge was apparently spur of the moment. Bowling Green spokesman Jason Knavel told Yahoo Sports that there were two scholarships left to give out, and Suder was on the short list to receive one, but no formal decision had been made. Jinks saw that Suder was having a good day with his kicks and offered the deal on the spot.
Thankfully, Suder rose to the occasion and nailed the attempt, because according to Knavel, "Coach Jinks said that afterwards he realized he had no idea what he would have done had he missed the kick."
It was a great moment for Suder, a redshirt junior who walked onto the team. He had a one-year scholarship last season while he was kicking for Bowling Green, but the full scholarship guarantees that his school expenses will be covered for the rest of his college career. Suder was 9-of-12 on field goal attempts and hit 35-of-38 extra point attempts for the Falcons in 2016.