Indianapolis – Until he arrived here for the NFL scouting combine, Mason Crosby and his wondrous, thunderous leg rarely met a tangible distance that was considered beyond scope.
Crosby and his leg once kicked a college-record 58-yard field goal near the beach of the Atlantic Ocean and an 80-something-yard touchback through tornado season in Iowa.
But here in the frigid, snowy streets of America’s heartland, Crosby has set a goal that may be impossible to reach, through no fault of his own. The pride of the Colorado football program wants to be selected within the first three rounds of the NFL draft.
“That is a goal, to be drafted on the first day,” Crosby said. “I can come out here and prove all I can. That’s all I can do.”
The NFL’s draft history suggests Crosby may be outkicking his coverage. Look at it this way: In the previous six years, there have been more No. 1 overall draft picks (six, or one each year) than kickers who were drafted on the first day (three).
At his combine news conference Thursday, Crosby successfully named the prominent kicking trio – Sebastian Janikowski, Mike Nugent and Nate Kaeding. Then again, the history of first-day drafted kickers doesn’t exactly require all-week cram sessions.
The question is, why? Then again, it’s not that hard to understand. What kickers do, really, is decide who wins and loses. That’s all.
“I think because there’s a trial-and-error period and because it is such a critical position, you want the veteran guy,” Carolina coach John Fox said. “That’s probably the most ageless position in our league. Once you get them, you keep them. Or they move around. They can always get a job. There are only 32 of them and for a young guy, it’s hard to get in.”
Indeed, the oldest Bronco is kicker Jason Elam, who is about to turn 37. The NFL’s three oldest players are Morten Anderson, 46; John Carney, 42; and Matt Stover, 39. All are kickers.
“I think people just figure the kickers are all so close together that they don’t want to waste a draft pick on them,” said Gil Brandt, the former longtime Dallas Cowboys’ scouting director.
Making the grade
There are six pure place-kickers who have been invited to this combine. One prominent draft expert, Todd McShay, gave Crosby an overall grade of 72. The other five had grades ranging from 30 to 36.
Crosby’s 58-yarder at Miami in 2005 set an NCAA record for the longest successful kick at sea level without a tee. His touchback while kicking off from his own 20 at Iowa State came in a game that was delayed by a tornado sighting in Ames.
In a league in which Devin Hester is considered worthy of a second-round pick because of his ability to return kicks, shouldn’t a kicker who can prevent returns be considered for the third round?
“If they’re concerned about anything, it shouldn’t be kickoffs,” Crosby said. “I feel confident about that.”
As he prepared for this combine, Crosby said he hit a few practice field goals from 60 yards, “but I haven’t been trying many long ones because that’s not really important right now.”
Which might be the smartest thing he says all week.
“We make our living from inside the 40,” Elam said.
In his four years at CU, Crosby was 40-of-44 from inside the 40.
The question isn’t whether Crosby will be drafted – itself an accomplishment, because only 20 place-kickers have been selected in the previous 11 years – but whether his name will be called on the first day.
“There’s no doubt he’s going to be kicking on Sundays,” Elam said. “To me, he’s a late second round-early third round guy. He’s that type of player.”
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
