Niles North senior-to-be Nick Mihalic said his right leg was still a little sore after returning from a trip on which he solidified his reputation as a nationally-rated high school punter.
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Mihalic, a Skokie resident, participated in the Top 12 Chris Sailer Kicking Camp in Tampa, Fla., from July 17-19, emerging with a 5-star rating out of five and a ranking as the camp’s No. 3 punter in the Class of 2018.
From Tampa, Mihalic traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., where he was one of 16 punters who took part in an invitation-only, camp at Tennessee. Mihalic said Tennessee coaches indicated the camp was held to identify the punter they want to offer a scholarship in the Class of 2018.
After kicking on the Volunteers’ practice field, seven punters, including Mihalic, were brought into Neyland Stadium to kick in front of Tennessee coach Butch Jones. Michalic said four of the punters were Australians with mainly rugby experience, while he was one of three high school seniors-to-be brought to the stadium.
“I wish I did a little better, but I’m just a little sore right now,” said Mihalic, who said he was asked to do regular punts, directional left and right punts and pooch punts. “It was pretty crazy kicking in front of the head coach and stressful imagining 105,000 people in (the stadium). I did alright, had a couple of big punts.”
Mihalic said he can take comfort in knowing he already has a fan in Tennessee assistant Kyle Visciglia, who works in special teams quality control. Visciglia was a graduate assistant at Virginia last summer when Mihalic had a strong performance at that school’s summer camp.
“(Visciglia) knows what I can do,” Mihalic said.
Mihalic said Tennessee coaches did not indicate when they might make a decision about which punter to offer a scholarship.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Mihalic received a full scholarship off from Air Force, which came in early July. Mihalic also has attended summer camps or special team’s camps this summer at Wisconsin, Michigan State, Indiana and Rutgers, programs he said have shown an interest in bringing in a scholarship punter in the fall of 2018.
Mihalic said he doesn’t have a timetable for making a verbal commitment.
“I don’t want my decision to be rushed, but I don’t want it to be laid back either,” Mihalic said. “I know these offers could leave and could go to someone else. I’m looking for the best possible place for me to land. I don’t want to rush and make the wrong decision.”
Chris Sailer recently wrote on his website that Mihalic “shows all the tools to take his game to the DI level.”
“A fantastic punting prospect. A great looking athlete with elite leg strength,” Sailer added. “He punts with great consistency and also shows he can hit a big ball.”
Mihalic said he has learned consistency is the key to impressing college coaches. Most coaches grade punters on a distance/hang-time formula that suggests a 43-yard punt must have at least 4.3 seconds of hang time. A longer punt with similar hang time would not allow the punt coverage enough time to get down the field to make a tackle.
“(At college kicking camps) everybody is trying to hit that big ball,” Mihalic said. “But instead of hitting one good one out of three, it’s better to hit the same ball every time. That’s what coaches want.”
Mihalic added: “It takes a lot of discipline, because you want to go and one-up the person who just went (ahead of you). But for college, they love a 4.8/48 as much as a 4.3/43. It’s all about consistency.”
In addition to punting, Mihalic said schools are interested in him for kickoffs.
At Niles North, where the Vikings are coming off a 1-8 season in their first season as a member of the Central Suburban South, Mihalic also has been a successful field-goal kicker.
His best game last fall came in a 29-26 overtime loss to Lake Forest in Week 2, when Mihalic connected on field goals of 21, 40, 44 and 47 yards. The performance earned Mihalic the honor of being named National Player of the Week by kohlskicking.com.
Mihalic also played wide receiver early in 2016, but said he eventually chose to focus on his kicking.
Vikings coach Mike Garoppolo said he expects to see Mihalic back on offense, and perhaps even defense, this fall. Mihalic, who also is part of the Niles North track team, said he has been preparing for the expanded role by attending 7-on-7 football tournaments with the Vikings’ backs and receivers this summer.
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“He’s going to help us this year on offense,” said Garoppolo, who is entering his second season in charge. “If you looked at Nick and didn’t know he was a kicker, you would think he was a receiver or safety. He has a good high school football-player body. He’s strong and athletic. (On punts and kickoffs) I’m not worried about him being able to get downfield and get himself in position to make a play.”
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press