UFL kicker fits NFL to a tee

The Michigan Panthers of the United Football League have a player whom NFL teams are banging down doors to sign: The kicker.

Jake Bates, whose only NFL experience was a two-week stint last year in Texans training camp, has been the star of the UFL. He hit a game-winning 64yard field goal with three seconds left March 30, making the kick twice after the St. Louis Battlehawks iced him with a timeout. Bates followed it last week with a 62-yarder at the end of the second quarter, and a 52-yarder in the third quarter of a loss to the Stallions.

Bates now has kicked more 60-yard field goals at Ford Field (two) than the Lions have in the stadium’s 22 seasons (zero). His performance is even more impressive considering he never attempted a field goal in three college football seasons, serving only as a kickoff specialist for Texas State and Arkansas.

Given the Patriots’ shaky kicking situation with Chad Ryland, it would be a surprise if they don’t have Bates on their radar. But they wouldn’t be the only one. Panthers coach Mike Nolan complained this past week that NFL teams and player agents are improperly contacting Bates. An NFL spokesman said teams may contact the Panthers about Bates but are not supposed to contact Bates directly, and cannot sign him until the UFL season concludes.

“Hopefully that backs off a little bit because that’s not — they’re not supposed to do that,” Nolan, formerly an NFL head coach and defensive coordinator for 22 seasons, told the Detroit Free Press. “I’d love to see him in the NFL, and no one right now can do him any good, so the best thing I can do is keep those people away from him currently, because I’m not helping Jake if I don’t do that.”