Last season place kickers Ryan Gaudet and Chris Jackson battled for consistency in extra points and with each other for the starting kicking job.
So when an outsider to last year’s competition, redshirt freshman Colt David, trotted out to the line of scrimmage last Saturday night, many wondered just who this mysterious No. 6. was. David had finally gotten his chance after walking on to the team last year.
“Why are you surprised?” asked Coach Les Miles. “You never heard of him?”
At the time, the only No. 6 who has seen time on the field was senior defensive back Mario Stevenson.
“That’s always a dream for anybody who walks on,” David said. “Your goal is always to get up to the next level and be given the opportunity I was given Saturday night.”
David – a kicker on the football field and a defender on the high school soccer field in Grapevine, Texas – looked at Oklahoma State and other Texas schools before deciding to walk on at LSU. OSU, Miles’ former school, was interested in David while he was head coach there.
“[LSU] was kind of a last-minute choice,” David said. “After the whole national champs and getting away from home, I had talked to a lot of Texas schools, but I just kind of wanted to get away. [Before] I never got a chance – not even a blip. Things didn’t go through when I was talking with OSU, so I was pretty excited when I heard [Miles] was coming here.”
Although David’s choice to get away from home played a big factor in his college decision, home was the first place he called after hearing he had earned a starting position.
“I called them Friday. They were pumped,” David said. “They had to watch it from home, but my mom called me after the game and said she was screaming every time. She’s that type of mom. My dad is a great motivator. He’s always been there for me ever since I was a little kid playing soccer.”
The most pressure David felt Saturday night in Sun Devil Stadium was before the game. After going 5-for-5 in PATs, he said he worked his out nerves.
“I thought I was going to be more nervous, but the first kick I was like, whoa, I’m really doing this,” David said. “I really just don’t pay attention to it. Before every kick, I know I’ve done it a thousand times. I really don’t want to think about everything going on outside. I just focus on what I need to do.”
With his longest high school kick at 51 yards, David will continue to kick PATs and short field goals, leaving the longer attempts to Jackson.
“It takes a little off my back not having to do three things all the time, which is good for me,” Jackson said. “But even better for the team that we have somebody who can go in there and do the job.”
Contact Tabby Soignier at [email protected]