The kicker for Norman North...

[Fraggle145]

I know we have two kickers on scholly right now... but i heard that this guy is really good. Like he kicks it through the uprights and the endzone off the college tee during games. Any chance we find some room for this kid? :pop:

[SOONER STEAKER]

I've seen this kid on TV, he has a MONSTROUS leg. Tress Way who we have on scholly has a leg just like this kid though.

The NN kid would be a great walk on though.

[Fraggle145]

I've seen this kid on TV, he has a MONSTROUS leg. Tress Way who we have on scholly has a leg just like this kid though.

The NN kid would be a great walk on though.

Can he kick extra points? :P

[CK Sooner]

Tress we be handling punting also next year, so if he is that good I think we should take him.

[Groovie_Mann]

I've seen him in person (tall, fairly skinny kid) when NN visited Muskogee early in the season, and I can tell you first hand that he'd kick from his own 40 and rifle it out of the endzone by 15-20 yards easily. Muskogee never had a chance to return one all night long. He was damned impressive.

[stoopified]

It is unusual enough to have 2 kickers on scholly at one time but 3?I would not put it past Bob though if he thought it would improve the team.

[Fraggle145]

It is unusual enough to have 2 kickers on scholly at one time but 3?I would not put it past Bob though if he thought it would improve the team.

Or if one of em kinda sucks it might be time for him to prove he deserves a scholarship with a season off scholarship... :eek: :pop:

[SOONER STEAKER]

Or if one of em kinda sucks it might be time for him to prove he deserves a scholarship with a season off scholarship... :eek: :pop:


You never take a kids scholly away for poor performance on the field. Let the kid break a team rule then give him the boot (no pun intended)

[Fraggle145]

You never take a kids scholly away for poor performance on the field. Let the kid break a team rule then give him the boot (no pun intended)

I think we need to start looking at the team rule book a little more closely...

[Remembering Tom Stidham]

Why isn't Way kicking this year?

[1890MilesToNorman]

Can he kick extra points? :P

Putts like he drives? Fore :O

[Rhino]

NN's kicker is Bryce Easley. He's got a big leg, but remember that in high school, you kickoff from the 40 and in college you kickoff from the 30. Who knows though, maybe the kids a gem.

He's "received interest" from Oklahoma State, Drake, Houston, Stanford and Central Oklahoma.

esXVDwDtG84


North's Big foot (http://www.normantranscript.com/localsports/local_story_255001752.html)
Jeff Johncox
The Norman Transcript

It takes a lot for a kicker to impress you.

Not that there aren’t great kickers out there, but most of the time, you only notice the position when the player does something wrong.

Take last week’s Oklahoma-Cincinnati game, for example.

Who would have thought one of the most popular topics for sports radio discussions in the area Monday would have been the Sooner starting kicking job?

Well, at least one kicker showed some big things on Owen Field last week. Norman North’s Bryce Easley showed how big a boot he has, and why he could be kicking for a Big 12 team, if given the opportunity, during the Timberwolves’ 58-0 victory over rival Norman High.

Easley’s booming kickoffs routinely went through the end zone, most times flying between the uprights and out the other side without a bounce, eliciting plenty of wows from the press box and some oohs and ahhs from the North side of the stadium.

“He lets us know they’re going to have the ball on their 20 every time he sets up,” North safety Kyle Wormington said. “It’s a big help, knowing they’re starting in their territory and you have a good chance to go three in, three out and put the offense on the field with a chance to score.”

It’s a weapon not many high school teams have.

Easley puts it through the end zone, well, easily, every time he kicks it.’

“What I saw the other night was impressive,” North coach Lance Manning said. “Don’t tell me, in high school, when it automatically comes out to the 20, with some of the returners we’re going to see, that it’s not an asset. It is. He’s a weapon. And I think OU could have probably used him Saturday, from what we saw.”

Kickers aren’t a high recruiting priority. Though, if they were, Easley would be at the top of some schools’ list. Not only can he boom kicks, but he’s accurate, too, from a holder or from a tee.

So far, schools like Oklahoma State, Drake, Houston, Stanford and Central Oklahoma have expressed interest in Easley. He’s gone to watch a game at UCO and Houston.

So, maybe that Clash game opened up some eyes. After all, there had to be plenty of people paying attention with all the talent on the field for North at other positions.

“I hope so,” Easley said. “My ultimate goal is to get a scholarship to a Division I school.”

Like many kickers, Easley has a background in soccer. Since he was three-years-old, he was on the pitch. That is, until last season.

He came out for football his freshman season, “I told the coaches ‘Hey, I can kick a soccer ball really hard, I bet I can kick a football that hard.’” Well, it worked and he’s been concentrating on the “other” football for the past few years, going to kicking camps and working out in the offseason to improve his leg strength.

In fact, the kid looks more like an outside linebacker than the typical kicker.

“I’ve spent the offseason working out,” Easley said. “I figure, the more mass I can put in the ball, the further it will go.”

Manning has seen some great kickers over the years. As an assistant at Putnam City West in 1994, Manning got to see Tim Sydnes set the state record with a 63-yard field goal.

And Manning was the head coach at Deer Creek in 2001 when Luke Roberts set the still-standing state record with a 65-yard boot.

“Those two kids were fine kickers,” Manning said. “I didn’t think I’d get a chance to coach another one who’s better. Bryce Easley has the potential to be every bit as good, possibly better. I’ve never seen a kid with a stronger leg than Bryce.”

As far as Easley is concerned, he just wants to keep putting balls through the end zone, giving his team that extra boost of confidence when the defense comes in.

“I want to make it as easy as possible for them,” he said.

His only regret from the Clash? After a North penalty put the ball at the 25-yard line for a kickoff, Easley only managed to get it to the opposite 2.

“I wish I had been able to put that one through the end zone,” Easley said. “That one would have been sweet.”

By the end of the third quarter, the NHS players weren’t even paying attention to the kicks flying over their heads. Heck, the North kicking squad was hardly going downfield to get hits on the Tigers’ return team.

“You relax,” Wormington admitted. “They tell us not to relax, because I guess he could mis-kick one. He pumps everyone up, though. I know it pumps me up to see him kick one out of the end zone. It’s demoralizing to the return team, for sure. They don’t even watch the ball all the way into the end zone.

“He’s ridiculous.”

Maybe Manning said it best about his unsung hero.

“We’re blessed to have a kid that talented.”

[TopDawg]

NN's kicker is Bryce Easley. He's got a big leg, but remember that in high school, you kickoff from the 40 and in college you kickoff from the 30. Who knows though, maybe the kids a gem.

But if he's putting it through the uprights on the kickoff, then you gotta figure his college kicks from the 30 will make it at least to the goalline.

[boomersooner28]

That video is a 54 yarder...impressive. Josh Brown (Foyil) kicked a 65-yarder in high school. :eek:

[badger]

Based on how special teams are performing this year, I'd say the two kickers on scholarship this year might not be the two kickers on scholarship next year. I haven't heard of coaches yanking schollys based on performance, but I'm not sure performances like we've seen will be tolerated much longer.

[swardboy]

If Tress Way is all he's advertised to be, Bob's gonna save that scholly for sure.

[badger]

I don't think Way's going away, I just didn't want to name name's (taking a page from the Stoops college sports etiquette book) to call a kid out or anything.

In the most non-specific way possible, based on how special teams have gone, I am not sure if all kicking personnel will be retained for next season.

[TFan]

Bryce Easley verbally committed to OU this last weekend.

[Soonerus]

Bryce Easley verbally committed to OU this last weekend.

I am calling BS on this...

[Collier11]

This was announced on the SA...he will be on the team one yr without a scholly and then receive a scholly after that apparently

[Rhino]

I am calling BS on this... Well, you'd be wrong.

[Fraggle145]

****in nice... I'm glad I kinda almost broke some sort of recruiting something about a kid i new nothing about :D

[KingDavid]

Some more recruiting information on Bryce Easley. I'm glad I searched and found this thread because it explains why he shows up on the site as having a scholly while he doesn't show up anywhere else on the recruiting web-sites.

Here's the link to Chris Saylor's profile of him.

Bryce Easley on Chris Saylor's Site (http://chrissailerkicking.com/index.php?act=GetContent&cid=43&disType=PlayerProfile&playerID=992)

[mathie]

Yep, as I understand it, Bryce is a Norman, OK kid who could have had a full ride just about anywhere, but choose to walk on at OU for one year, then get a full ride after that. Here is another link to more recent competitions for him--from what I could tell the Chris Sailor deal was his junior year.

www.kohlskicking.com

[Desert Sapper]

The kicking competition should be a good one this summer. Jimmy Stevens was a Parade All-America and did some great things in HS, but was downright horrible at times this year. Way looks to have a good leg. This kid looks awesome, even if we only use him for kickoffs. If every damn kickoff in HS has been a guaranteed touchback, I feel good about him kicking off for OU next year.