Big legs power Aggies’ kicking game
Davis, Constantinou add plenty of thump to what should be strong special teams unit
COLLEGE STATION — Kicker Caden Davis said he once drilled a field goal from 76 yards, 10 yards longer than the NFL record, while practicing at Texas A&M.
“It was pretty windy that day,” Davis added with a grin.
A field goal from 76 yards would be impressive in a hurricane, although the dynamite-legged Davis vowed he’s set aside the moon shots for the methodical boots more prone to win close games for the Aggies this season.
“I haven’t been pushing my distance,” explained Davis, who is in his first year as A&M’s starting kicker. “I haven’t been going much past 55 yards.”
Davis takes over for Seth Small, who as a senior last season kicked a 28-yard field goal as time expired to beat top-ranked Alabama at Kyle Field.
“Definitely every kicker’s dream to be in that situation,” Davis said.
Davis, a junior from Coppell, pairs with Australian punter Nik Constantinou to give A&M two of the strongest legs in the nation in the kicking game. The junior Constantinou was the lone Aggie on the preseason All-SEC media first team after leading the league last season by averaging 46.6 yards per punt.
“My favorite punt would the highest and furthest pinning him the deepest,” Constantinou said when asked whether he preferred booming a punt or jamming an offense against its goal line with a tighter offering. “(But) whatever can limit the return and put yourself in a favorable position, that’s the best one for me.”
Fans have grown accustomed to Constantinou’s booming punts, which he fits in nicely at a program accurately dubbing itself “Punter U,” and fans have witnessed Davis’s long kicks as well, even if they aren’t yet quite fully aware.
He handled kickoffs the past two years while Small handled field goals, and Davis in the last two spring games has wowed Kyle Field crowds with field goals from 55, 52 and 51 yards. Small’s longest kick over four seasons was 52 yards as a freshman, and his longest last season was 49 yards.
“I was more like a big-legged kicker coming in (to A&M), and his consistency was what made him so good,” Davis said of what he learned from the veteran Small the last three years, including 2019, when Davis redshirted. “We both just continually made each other better.”
Davis’ extended range also can impact the Aggies’ offense by other means than just lining up and kicking the ball from 50-plus yards. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher might be more willing to take a risk on a third down 20 yards or so deep in an opponent’s territory, for instance, knowing he doesn’t have to automatically create a situation for a field goal attempt from within 50 yards.
“When you feel very comfortable from (a) range … that can definitely influence how you call plays,” Fisher said.
Davis, a strapping 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, didn’t just show up on A&M’s campus three years ago and develop his leg strength. That was 15 years in the making (although the consistently hard worker earned the “Specialist Aggie Award” in strength and conditioning following last season).
“I grew up playing soccer. That’s usually how it goes for most kickers,” Davis said. “They start playing soccer, and with that (consistent) ball contact … (kicking) kind of came natural for me.”
Davis added that he began working with Kohl’s Kicking Camps as a youngster and “kind of fine-tuned all that raw ability into being able to make it more precise — being able to kick a football straight.”
He explained that “explosive” exercises like power cleans in weightlifting and plyometrics (“jump training”) helped his leg strength along the way to a scholarship to A&M, along with making 41 of 56 field goals over a solid career at Coppell High. Davis said his father was class of 1999 at A&M, and Davis grew up attending football games at Kyle Field.
He recalled that about a dozen years ago, he was one of the young fans lining the tunnel into the south end zone following a game and received a player’s gloves.
“And watching Johnny Manziel was amazing,” Davis added of seeing the 2012 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in person and in action a decade ago.
Now it’s Davis’ turn to perform in front of about 100,000 fans at Kyle Field, and he vowed he’s ready. A&M, ranked seventh in the initial coaches poll, opens its fifth season under Fisher on Sept. 3 at home against Sam Houston.
“I’m super excited,” Davis said, “to finally have the stage to myself.”