MSU's Christmann keeps focus on kicking even with the flooding problem back home
There has been more on the mind of Jace Christmann lately than just kicking a football.
The redshirt freshman has been working to secure his place on the Mississippi State football team, but the well-being of his hometown was also in his thoughts.
Christmann is from Houston, Texas, and that area was just recently hit hard by the flood waters created by Hurricane Harvey. He has been in Starkville in July and was not able to get home to help family and friends during that extreme weather event.
“I worried about my family a little more than usual,” Christmann said. “I would call in and check on them. It was definitely hard not being there with them. It's definitely been kind of a distraction, but they've done a great job of letting me know they are fine. That's the biggest thing. It helped me stay focused.”
Christmann was born in Katy and that town took a major blow from Harvey. He had friends that totally lost their homes and there were some places in his neighborhood that had flooding.
His home ended up being fine, but the concern was there for his friends.
“Their houses got completely trashed,” Christmann said. “We had friends that have gone through a hard time.”
Even though Christmann's thoughts have been on Houston, it has not kept him from taking care of his business as a Bulldog.
MSU head coach Dan Mullen looked to Christmann for the placekicking duty against LSU and he delivered.
Christmann kicked field goals of 30, 45 and 27 yards against the Tigers and made all four of his extra point attempts.
“It was a big adrenalin rush,” Christmann said of getting on the field for such a big game. “I had a good warmup. I knew that I could do it.
“I've always been pretty confident in my leg and my ability to get the ball down there (for longer field goals). Basically for me with that, it's just trust my leg. You've just got to keep the same swing and let your leg do the work.”
Mullen was not surprised to see Christmann perform well. It's what he's been watching on the practice field leading up to the LSU game.
“He had a good week,” Mullen said. ”You do simple math, look at the percentages and he had the highest makes in practice. He did a good job in the game.”
After struggling in the spring, Christmann committed to working during the summer to improve.
He benefitted from the redshirt season and said it gave him time to adjust.
“I think I'm a guy who needed a full redshirt year,” Christmann said. “I took what I learned from last year and I worked at it all summer. I was here June and July. I went home, worked a lot, came in, knew (the kicking job) was open and had full confidence in my abilities. I guess it worked out.”
Christmann was recruited some from Texas Tech and Notre Dame in high school, but admitted that he didn't get very many looks in his direction.
The door was open for him in Starkville and Christmann jumped at the chance. He joined the Bulldogs in August 2016.
“Whenever I got this offer to come here, it was the best one I had,” Christmann said.
MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald is thankful to have Christmann as a teammate and has confidence that if the offense can get close enough to the end zone now, three points can at least be gained.
When Christmann got MSU 13 points against LSU all by himself, Fitzgerald considered that production exactly what the team needed.
“Jace played lights out and did great,” Fitzgerald said. “I couldn't have asked more from him. He works his butt off and I'm happy for him. It definitely gives us a little confidence that if we can't get it in the end zone, (we) get it close and we can get three points.”