Rocky Mountain High School punter Alex Kinney did not exactly grow up a fan of Colorado, the university with which he plans to sign a national letter of intent Wednesday. Kinney always had Nebraska things on his bedroom walls.
“I still do,” he acknowledged. “But I have more CU stuff up now.”
It’s funny how things work out, Kinney said. Even after Nebraska headed to the Big Ten and Colorado joined the Pac-12, Kinney had reason to root against the Buffaloes in the annual Rocky Mountain Showdown game each year because he lives in Fort Collins and sided with Colorado State.
That has changed.
“I’m excited about being a Buff,” Kinney said. “Colorado plays big-time teams in the Pac-12. It’s close to home. It’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
It’s unusual to consider a punter as one of the top players in a school’s recruiting class. But Kinney, 6-foot and 195 pounds, may well be Colorado’s most important signee. Kinney was recruited by CU with the idea that he could make an immediate impact and replace departed four-year starter Darragh O’Neill, who completed his eligibility with the 2014 season.
In effect, Kinney may be CU’s highest-rated commitment for this recruiting cycle, at least relative to position. Punting and kicking guru Chris Sailer, who attracts participants from throughout the country to his camps, ranks Kinney as the nation’s third-best punter for the 2015 recruiting class, behind only Tennessee commitment Tommy Townsend of Orlando, Fla., and Arkansas commitment Blake Johnson of Los Alamitos, Calif.
Most kickers and punt- ers are awarded no more than two-star ratings by recruiting-based websites. Kinney earned three stars by .
In his online evaluation of Kinney, Sailer said the Coloradan “is potentially the No. 1 punter in the nation. A great athlete with a huge leg. Hits a huge ball. He has a big-time college future with continued hard work. … A fine young man with a great attitude and work ethic. Huge pickup for Colorado!”
Kinney also handled placement kicking duties for Rocky Mountain High School but said he was told by Colorado coaches that he probably will concentrate on punting at the college level. That’s fine with him.
“I like punting a whole lot more,” Kinney said. “There’s a lot more to it. There are all sorts of great kickers out there but not as many great punters. There is a lot of technical stuff to punting that most people don’t see.”
A big factor in becoming a successful punter at the college level is overcoming any temptation to flinch while burly defenders with bad intentions come charging to block a punt.
Kinney said he is never concerned about potential contact. He grew up playing rugby and also played defensive end in high school before concentrating on special teams during the past two years.
Colorado must hope that Kinney can approach the success of Alabama punter JK Scott, a Coloradan from Mullen High School who earned second-team All-America honors for the Crimson Tide in 2014 as a freshman. The two spoke during kicking camps.
“JK is ridiculous,” Kinney said. “He’s every young punter’s inspiration.”
Kinney can’t wait to get started on his college career. Expect the remaining Nebraska stuff on Kinney’s bedroom walls to come down by 2018, if not before. Colorado is scheduled to play Sept. 8 of that season at Nebraska.
“I’m already looking forward to that game,” he said.
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
