July 27,2017
(Photo Credit: Cleveland Gladiators)
There are a lot of
people across the country that have fears of doing anything in front of
large crowds. Cleveland Gladiators kicker Drew Basil does not fall into
that category. He spent his college years drilling field goals with over
100,000 pairs of eyes on him at the Horseshoe. Basil holds Ohio State
records for single season extra points and single season field goal
percentage. His most biggest kick came at a pivotal point for OSU. “I
would say the most important kick that I made in my career was a 52
yarder against TTUN (That Team Up North) going into halftime. That put
us within one point. We came out with all of the momentum in the second
half and ended up winning the game 26-21. We finished the season 12-0,”
he recalls. Kickers are often the biggest heroes or the biggest
scapegoats. When you hit the crucial kick, “It’s an amazing feeling.
Although, as a kicker, you must have a short term memory because the
next kick is always the most important kick,” describes Basil.
He started himself on this career path before he even attended middle school. “I learned how to kick right before the start of my fifth grade year,” the 25 year old explains. “I decided that I wanted to kick in college the summer before my freshman year of high school.” He made the right decision. He’s hit 23 of 24 extra points in his first season with the Gladiators, still in his home state of Ohio. The Chillicothe native only has practice and skill to thank for his success. “I do not have any superstitions that I know of. I do have the same routine before every kick and every game,” he notes. He simply locks in and knocks them home. When asked the weirdest thing he’s noticed when setting up to kick, he answers, “I honestly do not hear anything or see anything when it's time to kick field goals. Once I start taking my steps back, nothing else enters my head.”
A record setter in college and an accurate professional kicker, Drew Basil answers the question every football fan wants to know about kicking. Does “icing the kicker” work? “I do not believe that icing the kicker works,” Basil responds. “It allows the kicker to visualize making the kick from out on the field instead of from the sideline.” It’s hard to ice a kicker that has ice in their veins already. That’s what happens when you spend your kicking career in the Buckeye State.
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