Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Former kicker tries out with Cowboys

Despite tough transition, Bazaldua cherishes NT career

By Shawna Wright

Staff Writer

April 27, 2006

Former NT football kicker Nick Bazaldua tried out to kick for the Dallas Cowboys on Friday, April 14.

“It went well,” Bazaldua said.

For Bazaldua, being at a tryout with the Cowboys was like a dream. He was star-struck as he saw the Cowboys players only 20 yards away from him – players he had grown up watching.

“Drew Bledsoe is a monster,” he said. “He’s huge.”

During the tryout, he made 7-of-9 kicks. His two misses were from 40 and 45 yards, and they hit the uprights. He connected on all 50-yard kicks.

Bazaldua said he was not expecting too much from the tryout because the team was really looking for a kickoff specialist. He is better at kicking field goals.

“Kickoffs are not my strong point,” he said. “It’s pretty tough to kick the ball from the 30-yard line into the end zone on a consistent basis.”

The tryout with the Cowboys is not the only shot Bazaldua has at making it to the NFL. He spoke briefly about the NFL draft this weekend.

“I guess I’m nervous, I’m not gonna lie,” Bazaldua said. “It’s hard for kickers to get drafted.”

Bazaldua said the 48 hours after the draft are the most important for kickers. During this time, kickers who were not drafted usually sign with teams as free agents.

If these two opportunities don’t work out for Bazaldua, he could go to several rookie mini-camps after the draft. He also plans to work out with the Canadian Football League.

Bazaldua’s football career started at Desoto High School. He played both kicker and punter for the team. He showed promise both athletically and academically, graduating 16th in a class of more than 500 students, and he also scored a 26 on his ACT. Many colleges showed interest in him.

“UT wanted me to walk-on, but that didn’t guarantee me anything,” he said, “and I got a few Ivy League letters.”

Bazaldua ultimately went with the only school that offered him a full ride – NT. He said offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan recruited him.

“He was a good recruiter,” Bazaldua said about Flanigan. “He’d talk to you like he was just one of your friends.”

Bazaldua noticed a number of differences between high school football and college football; differences he had to quickly get used to coming in as a true freshman.

“Here it’s more of a business, there is no loyalty involved,” Bazaldua said about playing for NT. “In high school if you have a bad game, they really don’t care. Here, if you have a bad game, they’ll bench your ass in a heartbeat.”

He remembered one instance in particular where he had a bad game.

“My freshman year, I got a kick blocked against Arizona,” he said. “They ran it back for a touchdown. We lost that game 14-9. I had coach [Eric] Russell trying to eat me alive.”

Bazaldua said he felt frustrated and was looking to transfer at the end of the season.

“I even had my dad try to call other schools and stuff,” he said.

Part of his frustration was based on the fact that he was the youngest player on the team and was inexperienced.

“I was the only freshman playing,” Bazaldua said. “So all the other guys I had met were going out drinking, and I was traveling with the older guys.”

Mean Green strength coach Chris Seroka said Bazaldua never showed how frustrated he really was.

“I spent as much time with them on road trips as anyone, and he seemed light-hearted and comfortable,” Seroka said.

The older guys were a bit of a trial to Bazaldua at first.

“They messed with me a lot,” he said, “and they were probably joking, but when you’re a freshman, you take it personal.”

Junior defensive tackle Sky Pruitt was Bazaldua’s roommate and remembers the amount of heartache the kicker went through.

“Everyone was really hard on Nick because he missed a couple of kicks,” Pruitt said. “I remember thinking, I’m glad it’s not me. He handled it better than I could have because they laid it on pretty thick.”

Pruitt’s favorite memory of Bazaldua was when he kicked the game winning field goal against New Mexico State to send the Mean Green to the New Orleans Bowl.

“It was perfect,” Pruitt said. “We were all on one knee on the sidelines, holding hands, just praying.”

Pruitt said Bazaldua’s deciding kick was something he’d remember forever.

“We all went out on the field and dog piled him like in the movies,” Pruitt said on the team’s reaction.

In the end, the choice to play for NT proved to be good for Bazaldua as he has achieved a number of accomplishments. He holds the record as the all-time leading scorer in the Sun Belt Conference.

Bazaldua also received the [Wall Street Journal] Student Achievement award – a post-graduate scholarship of $7,500 from the NCAA.

Bazaldua plans to graduate in August with a degree in business finance.

He only has two business classes left to take and five elective courses, and he plans to take all nine hours in July.

In case Bazaldua is playing with a professional team, he has plans to finish his classes through correspondence courses. He is determined to finish college and get his degree. Former kicker tries out with Cowboys

Posted

That is a really informative article. I never knew how close we were to losing him.

I can remember that first year. Kicks were pretty low if I recall. I am glad to see he fought through that hard time and came out on top. Reminds me of a commercial that I like right now with Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade. In the commercial it shows him falling down time and time again on the court. Then the screen reads"Fall down seven times....................Stand up eight" Good quote and something that Baz obviously had in him during that first year.

Best of luck to him over the next few months.

Posted

Bazaldua ultimately went with the only school that offered him a full ride – NT. He said offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan recruited him.

“He was a good recruiter,” Bazaldua said about Flanigan. “He’d talk to you like he was just one of your friends.”

hmm!

Posted

Pruitt’s favorite memory of Bazaldua was when he kicked the game winning field goal against New Mexico State to send the Mean Green to the New Orleans Bowl.

“It was perfect,” Pruitt said. “We were all on one knee on the sidelines, holding hands, just praying.”

Pruitt said Bazaldua’s deciding kick was something he’d remember forever.

“We all went out on the field and dog piled him like in the movies,” Pruitt said on the team’s reaction.

Man, I hope we make a run for the title this year. That was too much fun.

Posted

I'm not much of a pro football fan, but I'm a big Nick Baz fan. I hope he hooks up with a pro team, does well, and remembers NT with fond memories.

Good Luck Nick

Join the Mean Green club

Buy season tickets

GO MEAN GREEN

Guest Aquila_Viridis
Posted

That is one player who got his job done. He has a bright future whatever path he takes.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Please review our full Privacy Policy before using our site.