Trainer of Top Kickers on Trey Smack’s Leg Strength, Ability to Handle Cold

Jamie Kohl, the director of Kohl’s Kicking Camps, is the authority when it comes to getting high school kickers college scholarships and college kickers into the NFL.

Before he was a standout at Florida and a sixth-round pick by the Green Bay Packers, Trey Smack was one of the top high school kickers.

“The first thing that we remember about Trey, it was probably at our national camp,” Kohl told Packers On SI. “We were doing kickoff chartings and he was kicking off from the 40 and there was a scoreboard behind the end zone, and he kept hitting the scoreboard, which was about 5 yards behind the end zone.

“It was just different. He’s always been very mature. And I think in college, he really honed in on being consistent day in and day out. He’s had some good coaches at Florida, been in some big environments, and he earned that opportunity to be in big environments because he was so talented.”

Smack was the consensus top kicker in this year’s draft and wound up being the only kicker drafted. The Packers gave up their two seventh-round picks to draft him in the sixth.

Being a successful NFL kicker requires a strong leg and a strong mind. Smack has both.

“As I’ve gotten to know him in the past four years at Florida, he just really was mature,” Kohl said. “I think his mental outlook is what endeared him to a lot of NFL coaches. I think he was No. 1 on a lot of NFL coach boards.

“He handled big moments very well and he has a good leg – an NFL standard leg – that I think is needed in today’s game. Combine that with his maturity, I think that’s why he was the No. 1 pick at the kicker position, not only by Green Bay, but on most teams’ boards that I know of.”

Trey Smack Has Mental Toughness

The importance of the mental part of being a kicker can’t be overstated. It’s a lonely position that comes with an incredible amount of pressure.

Really, it’s as simple as general manager Brian Gutekunst’s response when asked after the draft what he looks for when he’s scouting a kicker. Gutekunst simply raised his hands in the air like an official signaling the kicker was good.

You either make your kicks, or you don’t. It’s as simple as that. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, especially when the game or season is on the line.

The Packers have a good kicker in Brandon McManus. In last year’s playoff loss to the Bears, he missed three kicks. The Packers absolutely need their kicker to come up big in big moments.

“He handles environments well,” Kohl said. “He’s not someone that is going to be naive to pressure. He’s not someone that hasn’t kicked in big games. He still has to get used to the NFL. Obviously, it is different. But, at the end of the day, I just think when you meet him, you talk to him, there’s a certain level of confidence that he exudes because he is level-headed – doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low – and he competes well.”

One of the interesting things Smack said during his introductory Zoom call during the draft as well as at the rookie minicamp is he gets nervous for every kick, whether it’s a 20-yard extra point in the first quarter or a 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

So, how does that level-headed approach conquer the nerves?

“I think some of that is time on task over periods of time,” Kohl said. “We were talking the other day about Rory McIlroy. They had a heart rate monitor on him. That’s human. That’s fine. He gets nervous. But it’s how do you handle those things and how do you apply your ability in those moments? And that’s where I think he really, really has shown in college to be someone that can do those things.

“You know, kicking in Green Bay is not easy. Mason Crosby made it look pretty easy, but the reality is it’s not an easy place to kick. Obviously, Green Bay felt that Trey is someone that could come in and help their football team.”

Trey Smack vs. the Cold

Ah, yes, the cold. Smack grew up in Maryland and played his college ball at Florida. He made more than 80 percent of his field goals in each of his three seasons. He was 10-of-13 from 50-plus yards on field goals and missed only one extra point.

By vehicle, The Swamp in Gainesville is located about 1,300 miles to Lambeau Field, but it’s about a million miles climatologically-speaking. Smack hasn’t had to deal with a cold December day at Lambeau Field.

How will he handle it? Kohl is from Wisconsin and knows what it takes to not freeze in the elements.

“I think some of that comes down to the focus on the craft, the ability to block out distractions,” he said. “I think that’s a real big part of it. And then there are some things of just acclimating to the weather. When you live in Green Bay, you have no choice. You wake up in the morning and you got to go out in the cold. You do acclimate to it.

“Green Bay’s had a lot of guys from the SEC over the years become good players for them. Whether kickers, punters, snappers, quarterback, whatever position you’re looking at, you got to get used to the cold.”

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