Middlebury grad Hauschka hanging with NFL Ravens
Toolbox
By Tom Haley Herald Staff - Published: September 3, 2008
It was a Labor Day weekend Middlebury College graduate Steve Hauschka won't ever forget. Hauschka thought he was a placekicker in the Minnesota Vikings' future on Saturday morning and by Saturday night he was in Baltimore as a member of the Ravens.
Rutland's Steve Wolf, Hauschka's personal kicking coach, said Hauschka phoned him Saturday after meeting with Vikings' management about being relegated to the practice squad.
"They told him that they were impressed with him and that they felt he had a good chance of being part of their future.
"But when they put you on the practice squad, you have to clear waivers and the Ravens claimed him."
It wasn't surprising that the team seizing that opportunity was the Ravens. Before the NFL draft in April, the two teams most interested in Hauschka were the Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.
"I think they are looking for him to do kickoffs and possibly long field goals," Wolf said.
"During the preseason games, the teams returned the ball only to the 21-yard line on average, which is 6 or 7 yards better for a kicker than the average return. He has been hitting his kickoffs real well. His hang time has been 4.2 seconds and sometimes 4.4 or 4.5, which is unheard of. Kicking it to the 5-yard line with a 4.2 hang time is very good."
Wolf developed a relationship with Hauschka when he helped coach him at Middlebury College and has been in touch with him almost daily since.
Hauschka never played football in high school. He was a soccer player at Needham (Mass.) High and was on the jayvee soccer team as a freshman at Middlebury.
His roommates and friends encouraged him to try football and he began kicking for the Panthers as a sophomore. He established the school's season record with 10 field goals in 2006 and finished his three-year career with a program-record 20.
Last year he kicked as a postgraduate student at North Carolina State, where he made 16-of-18 field goals and all 25 of his extra points. The highlight of his season was giving the Wolfpack an overtime victory over Miami in the Orange Bowl with a 42-yard field goal.
The Vikings released Hauschka from the 53-man roster to make room for defensive tackle J'Vonne Parker.
But his time with the Vikings was beneficial to him because of he was learning from the team's veteran kicker, Ryan Longwell.
"He had a great relationship with Ryan Longwell. He learned so much from him," Wolf said.
And now he will be with Ravens' 19-year veteran kicker, Matt Stover.
"That's an education you can't get anywhere else," Wolf said. "It's a perfect scenario for Steve."
Hauschka joins Pierre Garcon, who played his freshman season at Norwich University, in the NFL. Garcon made the team as a receiver with the Indianapolis Colts after catching seven passes for 74 yards in the preseason. Garcon also averaged 28.6 yards returning kickoffs for the Colts. He transferred to Mount Union after earning the Empire 8 Conference Rookie of the Year honor at Norwich.
Contact Tom Haley at tom.haley@rutlandherald.com
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