Fort Lauderdale, FL — Countless times games come down to special teams. The kicking game and field position should not be undervalued and teams know that having a strong kicking game can be the difference between winning and losing. Football Hotbed held its Specialist Showcase at Cardinal Gibbons High School last weekend where future D-1 kickers met with the best at all levels.
“I thought it was a great competition,” said Gulliver (Miami) High school kicker and overall MVP Will Bettridge. “We had some great coaches out here. I know I had to compete my best. I want to thank all the coaches for helping me.”
Bettridge (2022) was impressive in all three phases of the Specialist Showcase. He averaged 60.6 yards per kickoff and made all of his field goals on day one. He also has solid hang time punting the football at 3.31.
One of the coaches in attendance was Lou Groza semi-finalist Jose Borregales. The current FIU and former Miami Booker T. Washington kicker holds records for the longest field goal and PATs made for the Golden Panthers.
He’s the older brother of 2021 Miami commit Andy Borregales.
Andy served as a student assistant at last weekend’s showcase and admits that after his performance at the same showcase in 8th grade was when he started to gain notoriety.
“This put my name out there a little bit back in 8th grade,” said Borregales. “I seen my brother going up in the national rankings. He’s my role model and I’ve always wanted to be like him.”
Other coaches in attendance were Miami Dolphins punter Stone Wilson and UConn kicker Sean Young. Coaches worked with attendees on their technique, power, and accuracy.
The most accurate in placekicking on day 2 was 2021 kicker Leonardo Zuazo and who made all of his field goals on day 1. The Miami Northwestern Bull out kicked Bettridge in the field goal elimination competition.
Zuazo hit a 55-yarder to win the competition and is ready to make big kicks in big games.
had a great time at the @FootballHotbed specialist camp with @Brandon_Odoi @_BenjaminReport Blessed to have won the field goal competition with a 53 yarder💯 pic.twitter.com/YSWlH033Cf
— Leonardo Zuazo (@leoball_1k) July 13, 2019
“I’m ready to play in front of all of those people at Traz,” said Zuazo. “It’s going to be special to make those field goals in those big games.”
In the power category, there were none more powerful than Cali Canaval out of Fort Lauderdale High School. The 2021 Harvard commit averaged 3.43 hang time on punts and 68.3 yards on kickoffs.
.@HarvardFootball commit @CaliCanaval clearly let us know that he is one of the best kickers in S FL. He consistently drilled kicks into the end zone and beyond at the @FootballHotbed Specialist Showcase. pic.twitter.com/SkXadhFwL0
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminReport) July 16, 2019
Western (Davie) High School specialist Carter Davis (2021) put his strong leg on display averaging 60 yards on kickoffs with an average of 3.33 hang time on punts and converting on 80% of his field goals on day 1.
Junior Lormeus (2020, Coconut Creek) and Kristopher Hobbs 2024 had strong showings on the day converting 80% of field goals on day 1. Lormeus averaged 3.51 on hang time with his punts while Hobbs is already averaging 42 yards on kickoffs.
Hobbs was the sole middle schooler to attend and will be a name to watch for in the future.
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