Punter hangs with top in U.S.
Prep football: Hart’s senior punter ranked 17th in the country and second in the state of California
Hart senior punter Aaron Rodriguez has been turning heads for quite some time in the Santa Clarita Valley.
After attending various kicking camps across the country this summer, Rodriguez showcased his abilities to a nationwide audience.
Rodriguez recently attended the Kohl’s Kicking National Scholarship Camp in Wales, Wisconsin, an inviteonly event that featured over 400 kickers, punters and long-snappers from all over the country.
After showing off his skillset, Rodriguez returned home as the No. 17-ranked punter in the country and the second-ranked punter in California.
“I have been working really hard over the past three years to get myself out there,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been tough, but this is the greatest opportunity I’ve ever had and it feels so fulfilling to know my hard work is paying off.”
According to his profile on Kohl’s Professional Camps website, Rodriguez “had some special punts at camp with multiple 50-plus yard hits with 4.7 seconds of hang time. Rodriguez also had an impressive ‘A’ ball of 53 yards.”
In addition to attending the
Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp, Rodriguez was present at Washington State, USC, Stanford and Fresno State’s kicking camps this summer.
He came out the winner of the punt competition in three of the four camps.
“Winning Washington State was a huge accomplishment for me,” he said. “It was a great experience. I also attended and won the camps at USC and group two of Stanford.”
Last season for Hart, Rodriguez punted the ball 51 times for 1943 yards, an average of 38.1 yards per punt.
While Rodriguez would prefer that his number isn’t called during a game, unless he’s kicking a field goal or an extra point attempt, he knows he can still help his team succeed whenever he hits the field.
“I can start implementing my own success by being the best asset for my team that I can be,” he said. “You never want your team to punt, but whenever I have to, I can put the ball in the best place for my team’s success.”
As far as his national ranking is concerned, Rodriguez doesn’t doubt that his number will continue to rise.
“As I move higher in the rankings, I will continue to perform my best when and wherever I can,” he said. “Continue to prove that I can be the best that I can be.”