The CU kicker is in field goal range after crossing midfield.
Colorado kicker Mason Crosby lined up at the 46, his own 46, to try to hit a field goal while practicing before the Georgia game.
The kick, if it reached the vicinity of the goalpost, would be a ridiculous 71 yards.
Lining things up, Crosby stepped it off.
“You want to hit it perfect,” he said. “You want to make the purest contact possible.”
When he booted the ball, he said it seemed to hang in the air forever. It was on target, but did it have the distance?
When the ball cleared the neon crossbar, Crosby showed skeptics why he is one of the top kicking prospects to come along in the past 10 years. The critics say he kicks it far because of the mountain altitude, but Crosby has made big kicks at sea level, too.
“When people say that, I would say look at that 58-yarder he hit against Miami last year,” Colorado special teams coach Kent Riddle said. “It’s awesome to have that kind of weapon. You know as soon as you cross the 50 that you’re in scoring range.”
To prepare for kicking at a long distance, Crosby said things are really the same as they are for shorter distances. He works on stretching often and wants to be as flexible as possible. Another key element is balance, so he can focus on hitting the ball dead on.
Crosby started kicking back in seventh grade, and soon after began to fine tune his skills.
In high school, he played other positions and other sports, but kicking stood out to him.
“It just came naturally,” Crosby said. “It was something I liked doing, and if you love what you do, you should go for it.”
“When I was at a summer camp in Texas, I realized the opportunity and the chance. It wasn’t something I always wanted to do, but once I did, I made it my focal point and tried to become the best I could.”
Crosby started at Colorado needing development both physically and mentally, but he and his coaches say he has grown tremendously.
“At first I was trying to get stronger and tougher and surivive out there,” Crosby said. “But I got bigger and got my head on straight and have been able to achieve my goals.”
In addition to developing himself, Riddle said that Crosby has been great with the younger players on special teams.
“He spends a lot of time and strives to help make them better,” Riddle said. “He’s great at leading by example, but he leads vocally as well. He shows guys things they can do to get better and improve all the time.”
When it comes to his future in the NFL, Crosby hasn’t given it much thought. He’s thinking about the upcoming Big 12 Conference season and what Colorado has the chance to do in conference play.
NFL teams are still taking notice.
“He’s going to have a long career once he gets there,” Riddle said. “He’s got both the strength and demeanor; not many guys have both.”
Crosby said kicking is his love, and the situations he looks forward to most are the ones where he can be the difference for his team.
“It’s not too often that you’re going to get the chance to make big kicks,” he said. “It’s just focusing and putting it through the uprights.”
It’s that attitude that makes coaches so confident, so impressed with his abilities.
“He’s a competitior and wants the opportunity to kick in pressure situations,” Riddle said. “He’ll be able to show he’s a once in a longtime talent.”