Kansas State kicker Jack Cantele makes most of second chance

MANHATTAN, Kan. What was the hardest thing about missing three field goals during a 20-14 loss to Auburn last season?

Kansas State kicker Jack Cantele needed less than a second to respond.

That may come as a surprise considering the high number of low moments that occurred that night. The home crowd cheering when Matthew McCrane replaced him, the people blaming him for the narrow defeat, the simple frustration of missing kicks he normally makes. ... How about the fact that it was a Thursday game and he had to show his face on campus the next day. It was all hard.

Still, one moment stood out.

“The hardest part was seeing my mom,” Cantele said. “She takes it harder than anyone. When I saw her after that game it was the worst feeling in the world. Worse than missing the kicks.”

Cantele has traveled a strange journey since that day last September. The senior hoped to win back the K-State kicking job that belonged to him as a sophomore, but McCrane never gave him an opportunity, as he converted 18 of 19 field goals and lead the nation in field-goal percentage. Cantele was entrenched as the backup. Then McCrane suffered a leg injury last week and Cantele found himself back on the field in meaningful situations. He took advantage, making all three of his field goals.

For the time being, he is once again K-State’s go-to kicker.

“I felt like I didn’t miss a beat,” Cantele said. “That’s the snapper and holder I have been practicing with for two years now. It felt good.”

The memory of consoling his mother, explaining that he was not hurt nor in trouble nor facing problems that extended beyond football, feels miles away.

Not that he was trying to move past it.

“I wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything,” Cantele said. “That moment, that whole day, the different experiences I have had, I wouldn’t go back and trade them for anything. Having succeeded at this level and having failed at this level, it really builds character and maturity. I am a totally different person than I was when I came out of high school, and even after my first two years here. It has helped me grow and humbled me.”

Cantele says he will use his experience good and bad to his advantage for as long as K-State needs him to kick.

McCrane’s recovery time is uncertain, but K-State coach Bill Snyder has confidence in both of his kickers. As a sophomore, Cantele made 11 of 14 field goals.

“I don’t have any concerns whatsoever about which one is on the field, because I think they are both extremely capable,” Snyder said. “Jack proved that. He came out (Monday) and kicked a couple of 53 yarders and was consistent throughout the day he has got his confidence back and that is a big thing.”

Cantele says he is simply filling in for McCrane until he is ready to return, and that he wants no part of a two-kicker platoon. McCrane is K-State’s kicker, and he understands that. But his return to the starting lineup seems to have energized him.

Last year, it was difficult for him to take every practice kick seriously knowing there was nothing he could do to win his job back. He vowed to be a leader on special teams and tried as hard as he could anyway, but it wasn’t always easy without the Saturday payoff.

Now it’s back, and he’s ready for the moment.

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