Kicker appears to have a leg up on competition
Stanford’s newest kicker is a 6-foot-4 Hawaiian with a name that wouldn’t feel out of place in an office supply store.
He is a former soccer player who stuck with football after falling in love with pressure situations, who punched home a 48-yard game-winning kick as a sophomore in the high school state semifinal game. He tucks his long, stringy hair behind his ears, wears a hint of permanent stubble on his chin, and looks as if he’s seen his way around some beaches.
Most pressingly, Jet Toner is not Conrad Ukropina, the former Cardinal who left The Farm as the most accurate kicker in Stanford history last year. If it were another player in Toner’s position, there might be some natural pressure to try to duplicate Ukropina’s success, but Toner says he doesn’t feel that tension.
For Toner, who says Ukropina felt like his older brother last season, there’s only one thing he wants to have in common with his former mentor.
“Conrad was unreal,” Toner said. “He’s a great kicker, but I’m not Conrad. I’m very different. Different build, different style, but my hope is to make as many kicks as he did. Kicking is super black and white, so I don’t need to compare myself to anyone. Just make the kicks.”
Toner came to Stanford from Punahou School in Honolulu, where he routinely converted from
long range, including a Hawaiirecord 53-yarder in a state championship game. His height made the power of his leg stand out, but according to Punahou coach Kale Ane, Toner was also an atypical kicker in other ways.
He lifted weights around 6 a.m. every morning and had a habit of changing the music in the weight room from the typical rap to old-school Motown. When coaches and players started to get angry with each other in practice, he would line up at defensive end to defuse the tension. And he did his best to lead by example, kicking and punting for hours after practice and attending as many camps as he could.
“Most kickers are introverted, I would say,” Ane said. “That’s not a word I would use to describe Jet. He loves to be around people and he had a great understanding of the balance between making the head coach upset and relaxing everybody. Not everyone can do that.”
After Punahou, the decision to come to Palo Alto wasn’t difficult. His grandfather, Walter Reinhold, graduated from Stanford in 1950. Toner has a strong devotion for Hawaii, as seen by the tattoo on his left leg that shows the story of his family tree as well as the coordinates of his hometown, but says the transition from the island to Stanford wasn’t too difficult.
It helps that a cardinal, the symbol for his grandfather, has been a part of Toner’s tattoo since high school.
“What’s been super similar to home has been the diversity at Stanford,” Toner said. ‘The population here is just so mixed, and that feels like home. On campus, it hasn’t been hard to transition. Well, I guess I’m two hours from the beach here and at home I’m less than 30 minutes from one at all times. That’s the biggest difference.”
While he hasn’t been named the starter yet — sophomore Collin Riccitelli is still in the mix — Toner seems to have the inside track for the job. He hit four field goals in Stanford’s spring game, one a 47-yarder, and has drawn praise from special teams coach Pete Alamar, who compared Toner’s leg to a golfer with a strong drive.
The issue is not power. The issue is controlling his finish, fighting the urge to overswing and instead ending his kicks with his body positioned between the goalposts. His fast release is in part what makes his leg so powerful, but it’s also what makes accuracy more difficult. This is Toner’s challenge, independent of every other Stanford kicker before him.
“One thing we tell our guys is to be the best you,” Alamar said. “Just be the best Jet Toner. You aren’t in a competition with Conrad’s legacy. Just stay within yourself and be who you are.”