Q&A: Get to know kicker Sander Sahaydak

Kickers are people, too.

You may, or may not, have heard that phrase before. For those who haven't, it's a lighthearted jab at kickers, who are often crucified when kicks go wrong and aren't given the credit they deserve when things go right. At many schools, kickers end up holding the record for the most points scored throughout a career, yet they get about the same attention as a backup right guard who only rotates in sparingly. Future Penn State kicker Sander Sahaydak is a good example, and I must stress that I point the blame at myself here.

Despite the fact that Sahaydak has been committed to the Nittany Lions for nearly 10 months now, I never did an extended interview with the specialist who not only earned a scholarship offer faster than all of Penn State's kickers in recent years, but was also named the No. 1 specialist in the entire country at one point by a respected kicking camp, Kohl's Kicking. He ultimately finished as the 8th-best kicker according to Kohl's, while Rivals ranks him third in the nation.

So, to change all that, I caught up with Sahaydak this week to learn about his path to college football, and how he went from a rising star on Liberty's high school soccer team to one of the most sought-after specialists in the Mid-Atlantic region.

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Ryan Snyder: You mentioned to me before that you come from a big soccer family. Can you explain that more? Did you have siblings that played? Parents? I assume you played for a travel squad and all of that growing up.

Sander Sahaydak: My uncle and my dad played soccer throughout their lives and my grandfather played soccer, too. My aunt also played soccer professionally. She met my dad's brother when they both played at the University of North Carolina. My dad then played at Brown University, so growing up, soccer was our main focus. No one ever pressured us or anything like that. We could play whatever sport we wanted. I played baseball, soccer and ice hockey growing up, but soccer was just kind of what I grew up really playing. Ever since I was real young, that's what I always did. I played travel soccer up until last spring. I also played high school soccer up until this fall. This was the first year I didn't play. My travel team growing up was Lehigh Valley United’s developmental academy.

Snyder: I saw you ran track & field in high school, too. Was that mainly to stay in shape for soccer? Did you ever win anything in track?

Sahaydak: My sister is three years older than me. In middle school, I would always come to my high school's track meets and come watch her and everyone compete. I don't know what it was about it, but I really wanted to do track. I thought it would help me stay in shape, but also, I really like having the structure of knowing that I have practice at this time and a meet this day. I always like structure in my life. I don't think I would do well just having a bunch of free time on my hands. That's a big reason why I did a sport every season. But anyway, I compete in the 400 [meter], the long jump and the triple jump. The triple jump is by far my best event. Last year, I came fifth in the league championship, second in the district championship and I believe I finished either 15th or 18th at states.

Snyder: So, how did football come into the picture then? Take me through that process.

Sahaydak: I never originally wanted to play football. I didn't come into high school thinking I wanted to kick for the high school team. I wanted to come in and play soccer and run track. Then, my freshman year, when I came in, the senior kicker for the team just left for college, so they were looking for a new kicker. I was the one freshman who made the varsity soccer team, so they wanted a guy that they could have for a few years. My mom is also friends with the wife of one of the [football] coaches, so it was always a joke about me playing on the football team. It ended up not being a joke at all. I did a tryout three days before the first game and that's kind of how it all came about.

But the whole reason I did it, honestly, wasn't because I wanted to play football but rather because I wanted to meet new people. I just thought it would be a good way to meet people from all over. Football is the biggest team at every school, but my focus was still very much on soccer. I was still going to soccer practice every day. I would then go to football practice on Thursday to do the walk-through and then games on Friday. There were times where I was playing a soccer game on Friday [afternoon] and then going straight to the football field. But through all of that, soccer was the priority. It wasn't until the summer between my sophomore and junior year, when I started going to college camps, that I started thinking this may be a better path to play in college than soccer. That's when I kind of transitioned my focus more towards football.

Snyder: You had a really good junior season. I believe you converted something like 10 of 12 attempts and also had that 52-yard field goal that grabbed everyone’s attention. But before all of that, you spent the summer going to a ton of camps. Did all of those camps help take your game to a different level that year? Did you just devote yourself to becoming a better kicker that offseason? What changed going into your junior year?

Sahaydak: I definitely committed myself in the weight room that year. That was a big part of it. I think just naturally I grew a lot and became a lot stronger that year, so it helped a lot with my leg strength. But going into my junior year, when I started going to college camps, I wasn't necessarily going just because I wanted to be a Division I kicker. I didn't know where I'd end up. I didn't know if I was good enough to play at a place like Penn State or if I was going to play Division II or Division III or any level at all. I just wanted to see where I stacked up with other kickers and to take tours of the campuses. So, I mainly just wanted to see what college football was all about. Then, when I started placing top three or so at these individual college camps, I started thinking that maybe I did have a chance to play at the top-level.

Snyder: You went to Kohl’s kicking camps last year and that’s where, I believe, your stock as a Division I kicker really took off. How did that help raise your profile?

Sahaydak: I always saw on Twitter the National Underclassman Challenge where they invite guys from all over to compete in Florida. So, I went to the regional camp, which was in Pittsburgh, and honestly, coming out of that day, I didn't think I did the best I could. I thought I could've done better, but I ended up leaving with this [certificate] that invited me to Florida, so after I got that, I felt a lot better. My whole goal really was to just be ranked in the top 25, but I saw before that underclassman camp that I was ranked 13th. That had me feeling great. I was really excited about that. Then, going to the Underclassman Challenge last January in Orlando, I was just looking to have a fun time competing and getting to know people and seeing where I stacked up against the top guys. I ended up winning the day one competition, and then I tied again for first in the day two competition. Obviously, I was feeling really good coming out of that, so to then be ranked number one, that was when everything turned for me. That's when I started getting a lot of texts and calls from coaches. That's when I knew I'm going to play football in college.

Snyder: Who were those schools that started reaching out? What was that change like?

Sahaydak: Coming back to school after that camp, there were some smaller D-1 schools stopping by the school like Villanova, Stony Brook, places like that. Then, I started getting follows on Twitter. Coaches from Penn State, Alabama, Virginia Tech and some other schools. The main ones that I really had contact with were Penn State, Virginia Tech and Rutgers. Georgia Tech was also in the mix, so those were the main four I was talking to at the time. Then, Army offered kind of early. I think it was early February. Then I took a visit to Rutgers probably like a week before everything shut down [in March], and they offered me there. A couple weeks later [in April], that's when Penn State offered me. I was talking to Virginia Tech a lot, too, so those were really the main schools and I was really looking forward to taking an official to places like Penn State, while also trying to get down to Virginia Tech, but that's when everything shut down. Fortunately, I did take an unofficial visit to Penn State, so I did already have a feel for it.

When I went on that visit, they had me meet with Coach Franklin in his office, and that kind of surprised me. That's when I knew they had real interest in me. After that, I stayed in contact with Coach [Joe] Lorig and Coach Franklin a lot more. They were hinting that they were going to offer, without specifically saying I had the offer. Then, when I did get the offer, in that moment, I just felt so at ease. It was obviously one of my top choices, so just knowing that I had a place to go, and at a big school like Penn State, it was a really happy moment for me and my family.

Snyder: Did you grow up a Penn State fan? Did you even watch much college football growing up? Also, was there anything about Penn State that made this an easy decision other than location? You committed pretty quickly after the offer.

Sahaydak: Growing up, Penn State football was what I watched in my house, just because pretty much everyone in Pennsylvania does. So, it was great knowing that the hometown team wanted me. Also, just knowing that I had the opportunity to be there with Jordan [Stout] and Jake [Pinegar], and having the opportunity to learn from the guys who have the starting job, I really liked that setup. I plan to compete, don't get me wrong, but just having those guys there, guys that I can learn from, everything just sets up really well for me.

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