BILLINGS — Billings West junior kicker Jacob Kauwe has one of the biggest legs in the state.
You may have seen this video floating around on Twitter, where Kauwe drills a 60-yarder at halftime of last weekend’s game in Bozeman:
Halftime warm-up in Bozeman. 60 yarder splits the uprights. #goodfrom70 pic.twitter.com/NQ2ZZN3pGG
— Jacob Kauwe (@JacobKauwe16) October 24, 2022
Now that distance isn’t something Kauwe typically attempts, but he had a little persuasion to keep moving back.
“I wasn’t planning on keeping going from that distance, but I was getting egged on by the student section and some people to keep going back," Kauwe said. "In practice I’m rarely hitting from that far. It’s not really useful, too. It’s rarely in a game. I’m normally 45-and-in, making sure that’s automatic before doing anything crazy.”
Kauwe actually didn’t think he was anything special entering this season, only going to a pair of local kicking camps over the summer. We see the raw talent on kickoffs, but how does Kauwe handle the clutch moments, where we see even the best fail on Sundays?
“The amount of reps and practice I’ve done, I’m confident in my ability and my snapper, Chris (Garcia’s), abilities to get the whole operation done," Kauwe said. "I’m never really nervous about anyone of us doing our jobs well because we’re all capable of it.”
Kauwe is looking to become the second consecutive Golden Bear to kick at the collegiate level, as Spencer Berger is currently a freshman at Carroll College. Berger and a certain future Hall of Famer have given Kauwe a good set of role models.
“Spencer, for sure, was a huge, huge mentor and inspiration to me his first couple years, kind of showing me the ropes of everything," said Kauwe. "With Justin Tucker, too, he has a very similar build to me and a similar wide approach, wide stance when he kicks, so he’s kind of who I try to kick like.”
Not a bad guy to emulate. And with a leg like his, Kauwe could potentially find himself kicking in those pressure situations on Sundays.
