For a field goal kicker, college football is a make or miss league.
The life of college football kickers are full of ups and downs, as they often bear the brunt of a team’s failures if they miss kicks to end close games, but become campus heroes if they make them. After a rough beginning of the season, sophomore Camden Lewis has been replaced by Henry Katleman, proof of Oregon’s subpar kicking game so far this season.
In 2019, Lewis was one of only 12 FBS true freshmen kickers to fill a starting role. His freshman campaign was a mixed bag, making nine of his 14 attempts, averaging out at 64%. He did have one shining moment however, as Lewis booted in a game-winning field goal against Washington State. The fans in Autzen Stadium erupted for Lewis as he saved the Ducks from an upset home loss.
But Lewis has struggled in 2020, going 1-4 on field goal attempts. After Oregon’s narrow win against UCLA, a game where Lewis went 1-2 on field goals, the clamoring to replace Lewis reached a fever pitch.
“You got to call it how it is,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “With that the competition [for starting kicker] it opened for the week and the guys have a chance to battle and see who wins the job.”
Out goes Lewis, in comes Katleman.
The difference in background between Katleman and Lewis is wide. Lewis came to Eugene ranked a consensus top-10 kicker by Rivals, ESPN and 247sports. During his high school career he received multiple Division I offers from schools like Minnesota and East Carolina to kick. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native decided to travel across the country to kick under Cristobal.
Katleman was a high school soccer player in Malibu, California, and joined the program as a walk on. He drew some interest last season, as fans watched Katleman drill what appeared to be 50- to 60-yard field goals during warmups.
Sometimes pedigree doesn’t matter in college sports.
Katleman was the starter against Oregon State and California, and so far he seems to be up to the task. Last week he made a 21-yard field goal from the right hashmark, which is a difficult angle. Katleman proved he had a cannon of a leg on a penalty-induced 42-yard extra point attempt as the ball went sailing through the uprights.
Katleman has not missed either of his two field attempts. This is a small sample size, but he has earned enough trust with the coaching staff that it is unlikely that Lewis will start against Washington this week.
“Henry has always been a real good teammate and a real good competitor,” Cristobal said. “Tonight [against Oregon State] his extra points were good, the field goal was good, and at the end we were going to put him in there if it was time to kick a field goal.”
That is not to say that Lewis’ journey at Oregon is over. In Division I football, the margin between victory and defeat is so narrow that it can topple the best kickers.
