Leo's special teams star craves the pressure

There were the games on television with friends and family. There were the Notre Dame games. And, the Indianapolis Colts games. For Carson McCauley, that is where his love for football originated as a child. And, over the years, the love has only grown for the Leo High School special teams standout who has made quite the name for himself as a kicker and punter. “When I was younger, I played flag football and attended Canterbury, which did not have a football program. I was fornate my parents moved to the Leo school system, where I was able to participate in the cub football program, starting my fifth grade year,” McCauley told Sideline Prep Sports Report. And, since then, he has been making a name for himself for his kicking abilities. McCauley is a four-and-a-half star kicker and punter and is the 50th ranked punter in the nation by Kohl’s Kicking. “It is humbling that my hard work and dedication to the sport and my positions have put me at a state and nationally ranked individual. I never focused in the publicity part of being the best. Through my journey, I have met many amazing coaches, teammates and people that have helped me excel at my positions,” McCauley said. While many kickers and punters may be nervous about the moment they step on the field, McCauley welcomes the pressure. “The part I enjoy most is the pressure and the beauty that comes with both the kicking and punting positions. There is no other feeling than hitting a game winning field goal or smashing a deep turnover ball under the Friday night lights,” he said. McCauley tells Sideline Prep Sports Report that all his training and workouts have helped him not only embrace the pressure, but come up with some nicely timed kicks for Leo. “My hard work and hours of training have led me and my team to big wins during crunch time games,” he said. A season ago, Leo finished 10-2, losing to East Noble in the sectional final. This season, McCauley and his teammates enter focused solely on being 1 percent better every day. In addition, the Lions want to contend for sectional, regional and state championships. For McCauley, his goals are also simple. “I want to beat the school punt average record that I set last year. I also want to beat the field goal record at our school as well. Another personal goal of mine is to influence younger players to train hard and excel in the sport that they love. All of these goals can be accomplished because of the talent we have on our team and coaching staff,” he said. Currently, McCauley is drawing attention from Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota, Coastal Carolina, Liberty, the University of Indianapolis, Indiana State, Ball State, Southern Illinois and St. Francis.