By BUTCH HARMON
For years, one thing upon which the Detroit Lions could depend was placekicker Jason Hanson hitting clutch field goals and booming kickoffs deep into the endzone.
Hanson also influenced many Michigan kids into becoming kickers. St. Louis junior Kaden Keon was one of those kids, and since he caught the kicking bug, he has developed into one of the top high school kickers in the state.
“I remember the day I got into kicking like it was yesterday,” Keon said. “My dad and I were watching a Detroit Lions game. I was 13 years old. The Lions scored a touchdown, and on walks the great Jason Hanson. After Hanson made the PAT, my dad asked if I would want to try kicking. I, of course, agreed to give it a try. So my dad then bought me a football and a tee. Little did we know that the football we bought was not a “real” football. It was made of composite leather instead of real leather. Now I had played soccer up until seventh grade and I was notorious for having the nickname “Thunderfoot.” We had no idea what we were doing back then. The tee we had bought was plastic, and it only took a few kicks for it to shatter. Then my dad started to do research about kicking tees. We found a one-inch block that is used for kicking field goals. We traveled in to the practice field in St. Louis and began to kick. My dad would hold the ball, I would kick it, and then we would go get it. I have been kicking for four seasons now, and we have come a long way. Instead of only having one ball, one block, and my dad as a holder, we now have at least ten footballs, a holder, and multiple blocks.”
Keon is now a junior and has already accomplished some impressive kicking feats. His main highlight is a school-record 47-yard field goal that he kicked against Beaverton last year. It is an acccomplishment for which he is quick to credit everyone on the team. “I don’t deserve all the credit for that kick,” he said. “It takes 11 people to complete every play during a football game. Everyone gives me all the credit for that kick. I did kick the ball, but no one knows about the other 10 people who helped the kick go through. Chris Adams was my long snapper and Zach Mizer was the holder. A field goal is done in three parts: snap, hold, kick.”
Keon is a standout punter as well. His long punt was a 60-yarder against Breckenridge.
Keon is dedicated to his craft and has attended numerous kicking camps over the years, where he has met and has been coached by some of the finest kickers in the game. “The first camp I ever went to was the Detroit Lions Kicking/Punting Camp,” he said. “It was run by the 16th-leading scorer in the NFL, Eddie Murray. I did really well at that camp and was recommended to attend more camps to get more exposure. This eventually led to us attending Chris Sailer Kicking camps. We attend Chris Sailer camps year round. His camps have a tremendous amount of talent at them. They allow me to kick next to other Division I kickers and gauge my talent to see where I need to be to get to the next level. I also attend college camps so I get the opportunity to kick in front of college coaches.”
This past summer, Keon attended college camps at Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Western Michigan University, and Purdue University. He was scheduled to kick with the University of Illinois and Indiana University, but the late ending of the school year conflicted with the dates of those camps.
Kicking for a Division I college team is Keon’s main goal. “Ultimately my goal would be achieving a spot on a Division I football team,” he said. “I also set seasonal goals as far as field goal distance and accuracy, average kickoff distance, and hang time, and average punt distance and hang time. The farthest field goal I have hit in practice is 55 yards. If I get the opportunity, I would love to have 80% field goal accuracy. I would also like my kickoff touchback percentage to be at least 75%.”
While he specializes in kicking, Keon is more than just a kicker. He is a football player who also plays wide receiver on offense and cornerback on defense. He recorded a big highlight when he scored a touchdown on a 40-yard fade pass against Breckenridge.
In addition to playing soccer until the seventh grade, last year Keon was a member of the St. Louis track team as a sprinter, long jumper, and high jumper. His goal this year is to focus on football and to concentrate on his kicking and weight lifting program.
Keon follows the careers of some of the state’s premier college kickers. “Some kickers I really pay attention to are Ron Coluzzi and Michael Geiger,” he said. “Ron is a good friend of mine and also kicks for Central Michigan University. It is fun to kick with him because we are the same type of kicker. It adds some competition whenever we kick together, which is always fun. Michael Geiger is the kicker for Michigan State. I strive to become as consistent of a kicker as he is. I have kicked with both Geiger and Coluzzi at Chris Sailer Kicking camps. I also train with former Northern Illinois University kicker Chris Nendick. He helps me tweak my field goals and always seems to make me better. My other kicking coach is the former NFL kicker Eddie Murray. He has made my kickoffs the way they are and also tweaks me some on my field goals.”