Texas State Kicking Greatness Continues

Texas State freshman and long-time One on One Kicking Trainee, James
Sherman.

An overlooked aspect of football is the punting game. One team not overlooking the punting and field position aspect of college football is Texas State. Three years ago, the Bobcats brought in dual-threat specialist Will Johnson from Bryan, Texas. Johnson, now one of the top punters in college football, has been training with One on One Kicking for several years. “Our coach met some of the One on One coaches at a coaching clinic and it sounded like a good deal. They got me when I was going into my sophomore year of college when we went to Prattville to train, last year we went to Pensacola and now this year in Mobile.”

“Will has improved his consistency and his power,” One on One Kicking Coach Luke Gaddis stated on the past three years with Will Johnson, “In the college training sessions we get to see his pop, maturity and consistency. He’s better at handling pressure situations now, whether it’s training with us or game situations that our coaches put him in. Will’s progress has been impressive to watch, I’ve been around Chris Boswell, Nate Freese, and NFL guys like that, and Johnson is right up there with him. Will has a huge leg with amazing potential,” Gaddis said.

Johnson has been through certain things in his life that set him apart from several other kickers and punters. “I lost my dad last year,” Johnson said, “After he passed away, I didn’t know if I even wanted to punt anymore because he wasn’t at my games. This year, I’ve been hitting the ball well and now I want to make it to the next level for him.”

Johnson has begun to find himself with the Bobcats. During his junior season last year, Johnson punted 41 balls for an average of 44 yards. Johnson also specialized in pinning his opponent deep in Texas State territory, ranking eighth in college football with over 46% of his punts being inside of the twenty-yard line. Johnson also registered a 65-yard punt against Louisiana last season and holds the school-record for longest field goal with a 54-yarder against New Mexico State in his sophomore season.

“Will has an awesome work ethic, he’s always paying attention to detail,” said Will’s One on One Kicking coach, Luke Gaddis, “He’s always looking to get better despite his big ball. You would think a guy like him would sit back and think, ‘Sweet I got this,’ but not him. Whether it’s a 20-yard field goal or a 50-yard field goal, Will is always looking to be consistent.”

One thing that Johnson enjoys about One on One Kicking is how he gets to work with the younger high school guys. “With One on One, they helped me be able to coach myself and learn how to coach others, they get a lot out of you and you get to work with the younger kids.” Johnson will need to learn how to coach because he now has someone looking up to him. Incoming freshman punter, James Sherman out of Montgomery, Alabama will most likely redshirt this fall while learning under Johnson and then be thrown into the fire in 2015.

“James may look up to me and what not, but I look up to him as well,” Johnson said on his younger teammate, “He’s been with One on One since he was in eighth grade and he’s really helped me a lot. He’s young but he really knows what he’s doing, he always helps me with drill work. I expected James to end up at a bigger school, so it was a great get by Texas State.”

James is an unbelievable dual-threat kicking and punting prospect that has been with One on One for several years now. “I was in eighth grade so I was a little boy,” Sherman said, “The first day I learned so much from Coach McCabe and from there we’ve developed a great relationship.”

Now that Johnson is a senior and Sherman is an incoming freshman, they’ll have one year together with the Bobcats. “I met Will two years ago in Prattville, we were doing a competition with college against high school guys,” James said on the first meeting with his soon-to-be teammate, “He said he went to Texas State and I was really confused because I didn’t know that was even a school. Will seemed like a good guy then and ever since our relationship has been pretty sweet.”

As for One on One, James Sherman says he has learned a large amount from Coach Gaddis and Coach McCabe at one on One. “They’ve helped me a lot,” Sherman said, “I’ve learned so much about kicking, more than I could ever really imagine knowing. I’ve met a lot of guys through college and pro training and watch them move up through the ranks. When they say One on One is the best of the best, they mean it with all of the NFL guys that come out here to train.”

Now for Sherman, he gets to learn from one on the best punters in college football while enjoying time off the field with him as well, “I’m excited about it,” Sherman said on spending time with Will. “I’ve been able to spend the past few weeks with Will, he has a huge leg and such a great attitude about it, I’m excited to be along on the journey with him. He just works so hard.”

As Johnson said, Sherman has taught him so much, “It’s interesting,” Sherman said on teaching a punter who is three years older, “He tells me that I teach him a lot sometimes and I’m flabbergasted, I don’t understand how that’s possible. For me, he taught me so much about the university that I wouldn’t know with him, I would be failing on a lot of things if he didn’t teach or tell me. It just takes a lot of pain out of the high school to college switch.”

Working with two outstanding Texas State punters is something fun for One on One’s Director of Kicking, Dan Lundy, who trains both punters. “It’s definitely an experience,” Lundy said, “You’re talking about one of the best punters in the Class of 2014 in James Sherman and one of the best legs coming out of college in Will Johnson. You get to see that Will Johnson is in going into his senior year, he has a lot to prove and he’s trying to get to the next level. Then you have someone like James who’s going to be a freshman who most likely will redshirt under Will. Once the time Will graduates, James will get some experience and be ready to start as a redshirt freshman.”

Texas State has bolstered their special teams for the next few years. They already have one of the top punters in the country in Will Johnson, now they’re looking to continue that for the next five years by bringing in James Sherman.

Questions? Comments? Contact me on Twitter: @ToledoZach

One on One Kicking Trainee Matt Bonadies Commits to UAB

2015 Kicker Matt Bonadies with UAB coach Heath
Thomas. (Provided Photo: Debbie Bonadies)

University of Alabama-Birmingham first year head coach Bill Clark has had a winning coaching resumé no matter where he has coached. In 1999, Clark was hired as the head coach at Prattville high school in Alabama and led them to a 106-11 overall record and back-to-back state championships in his eight year tenure. From there, Clark took over as the defensive coordinator at South Alabama until 2012, when he was hired as the head coach at Jacksonville State University. In just one season, Clark led Jacksonville State to an 11-4 record and their first playoff appearance. Now, the successful coach is taking over a struggling program at UAB, where he hopes to turn that program around as well. Clark is off to a hot start on the recruiting trail, reeling in two top kicking prospects in the Class of 2015. Punter Ivy Wall of Oak Forest Academy in Amite, Louisiana committed to UAB last month, now triple-threat specialist Matt Bonadies of Buford, Georgia has also committed to the Blazers.

“I met Matt and his mother about a year and a half ago,” One on One Kicking founder, Mike McCabe stated on Bonadies, “I was introduced to the Bonadies family by Marc Nolan from ‘The Kickers Zone’ which is a company we network with. They’re a great Christian family and he’s a great kid.” Marc Nolan, the CEO of ‘The Kickers Zone’ has been worked with Bonadies before referring him to Coach Mike McCabe and One on One Kicking.

“Matt came to us as a kid with a very strong leg,” McCabe said on Bonadies’ beginning with One on One, “He came in with a soccer swing but was always positive and had a great attitude. Matt is very coachable and picks up everything quickly; he’s an extremely bright athlete.”

Bonadies is an up-and-coming prospect out of Buford high school who has been working with One on One Kicking and former NFL punter Dawson Zimmerman for the past year. “When I came to One on One Kicking, I had the basics of kicking down,” Bonadies said, “I had been to some camps and had a good kicker at my high school that taught me what he knew, but I was still kind of raw. I was refined once I got to them because they brought it down to the small details, they showed me kicking was a lot of smaller detail rather than big things.”

Matt’s mom, Debbie also started to see a difference following her son’s training with One on One Kicking and founder Mike McCabe. “His confidence improved and so did his techniques. We saw a huge difference in the results and techniques. Once he got to go year round his punting had improved and we saw five second hang-time.”

“After One on One, I’m a kicker who really critiques myself,” Bonadies said on his development with One on One, “They showed me the fundamentals and details of kicking. Now I can watch my film and know what I’m doing wrong, I’m a self-teaching kicker.”

Matt’s mother was looking for an affordable way for him to stay in shape year round and she found what she was looking for in One on One Kicking. “It was the only company that offered the year round kicking and Matt wanted to keep in shape year round,” Matt’s mother stated, which is why she chose to send him to One on One. “We knew Mike McCabe helped a lot of kids because I talked to their moms and we all agreed that he was one of the best instructors out there. He (Coach Mike McCabe) was agreeable to having Matt, it was a combination to the reputation of Mike McCabe and talking to the moms, plus it was very affordable for what you get in return,” she stated.

The big leg of Bonadies continued to grow as his work with One on One Kicking continued. Once a raw prospect, Bonadies transformed into a top kicking prospect. Interest came pouring in from bigger programs such as Tennessee, Rutgers, Syracuse and Vanderbilt along with smaller schools Coastal Carolina, Mercer and Georgia State. “UAB started recruiting me in the spring time,” Bonadies said, “They were sending me hand written letters and invites to camps and campus.”

First year head coach Bill Clark has the Blazers’ program headed in the right direction and the recruits are beginning to notice. “I really liked the direction that they’re headed in,” Bonadies said on why he committed to UAB, “Coach Clark and Coach Thomas have big ideas for the program and it’s so impressive how they’re turning it around and the direction they’re headed in.”

“Committing to UAB is the most relieving feeling in the world because I know I’m in good hands for the next five years of my life. I have a great home,” Bonadies said on his commitment to the Blazers. “I’m a graduate of UAB and so is my husband,” stated Matt’s mom, Debbie, “It’s surreal, Matt has worked hard and he’s deserving of this. I’m so appreciative of the confidence that Coach Clark and Coach Thomas have in him. Matt is very motivated to turn the team around, there’s big shoes to fill and he’s up to it.”

UAB currently has two senior specialists on their roster, kicker Ty Long and punter Hunter Mullins, who are One on One Kicking trainees as well. Long was selected as a Lou Groza semi-finalist in 2013 after being on the preseason watch list since his sophomore season. Aside from the Lou Groza, Long holds the UAB school record with a 54-yard field goal against Ohio State in 2012. Also in 2012, punter Hunter Mullins received a lot of attention after averaging nearly 45 yards a punt, which ranked him 13^th nationally. Mullins was also selected as preseason Special Teams Player of the Year in Conference USA this season for his final year at UAB. One on One Kicking has certainly made an impact with the UAB Blazers football specialists such as Long and Mullins and now Bonadies and Ivy Wall.

Following Mullins’ departure, Bonadies will have a tremendous chance to start as a true freshman, “That’s a big reason why I chose UAB,” Bonadies stated. “I have a chance to start right away, I love to have the playing time and that’s the opportunity I am going to get.”

Coach Clark is now rebuilding the special teams at UAB with the addition of punter Ivy Wall and kicker Matt Bonadies in the Class of 2015, both of which are One on One Kicking trainees, as Hunter Mullins and Ty Long were before them. For Bonadies, he says he’s excited to get started with fellow specialist commit, Ivy Wall, “I met Ivy at a specialist camp, he and I are great friends,” said Bonadies on his soon-to-be teammate at UAB, “I look forward to working with him in college.”

Matt’s mom, Debbie was drawn to UAB because of the coaching staff, “The coaches took a personal interest in Matt, particularly Coach Thomas,” she stated. “I love the direction that the team is going; it’s exciting to be a part of the rebuilding effort. As a mom, I feel that Matt is at the best place that he can be, plus we’re only three hours away so it’s just a drive away. Coach Thomas is a winning coach with strong character, good morals and he motivates his players. I feel so secure that Matt is in the right place.”

As for Matt, he also took a mutual interest in the coaching staff, particularly Coach Thomas. “Coach Thomas works specifically with the kickers, punters and snappers instead of a special teams guy,” Bonadies said on the first year head coach, “So we have a guy who knows what he’s talking about and that really made me decide.”

Though he has worked on punting for the past year, Bonadies is being recruited to UAB as a kicker, which is what his focus will turn to from now on.

Despite Bonadies focusing on kicking, Coach Mike McCabe says Bonadies may be a kicker now, but he’s an all-around dominant specialist, “Short and simple, Matt is a triple threat, he’s a huge asset to UAB. His kickoffs are averaging 4.0 or 4.1 at a high school level and are seven to nine deep. As a triple threat, Matt is extremely consistent and is a great high school kicker. His talents can go anywhere; he can win as a kicker, punter or kickoff specialist.”

For UAB, they got a very bright player with a great future in Matt Bonadies. The strong leg and tremendous work ethic will carry the Blazers special teams unit a long way for the next five years to come. “He’s a division one kicker who can be an All-American now,” said Coach Mike McCabe, “He’s an all-around triple threat and a great athlete to have.”

Blazer fans - Coach Bill Clark is beginning to turn this program around before coaching in his first game with UAB. On the recruiting trail, Clark and the Blazers got not only a great player, but also a great person in Matt Bonadies. Watch out for this kid down the road.

Questions? Comments? Contact me on Twitter: @ToledoZach