:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/37171300/158917653.0.jpg)
 |
#3 Jack Cantele |
Position: Kicker Previous College: None Projection: Starter Status: On Scholarship |
Jack Gregory Cantele (b. July 1, 1992), a talented place-kicker who has developed rapidly since arriving in Manhattan in 2011, is the younger brother of former starting kicker and kickoff specialist Anthony Cantele.
Jack served as the full-time place-kicker in 2013 and looks to hold on to his starting spot as a junior, despite an injury that forced him to miss the final three games of last season. He was voted a player representative for 2014.
Cantele played three years at Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School, where he was an all-state selection by the Kansas Football Coaches Association, The Topeka Capital-Journal and The Wichita Eagle as a senior.
He helped his high school team to win three straight district championships, and he booted more than 50 touchbacks and made 15 field goals. He redshirted in 2011 and did not see any game action in 2012.
But in 2013, Cantele broke out in a big way. He finished as one of the top place-kickers in the Big 12 Conference after connecting on 11 of 13 field goals. Kickoffs were handled by Ian Patterson, which I think kept Cantele fresh.
Cantele finished fourth in the Big 12 with an 84.6 kicking percentage, sixth in field goals (1.10 per game), seventh in overall scoring (7.3 points per game) and sixth in kick scoring despite missing the last three games of the season.
He was 8 for 10 in league action to rank third in percentage, and now ranks second among sophomores in school history with 73 points and fifth in school history in season percentage.
Cantele also finished just outside the school's single-season top-10 list in field goals and extra points (40).
He earned Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors after going 4 for 4 against TCU, which included the game-winning 41-yarder with three seconds remaining. A miss of any of those four would have cost us the game.
Cantele's game-winning boot was the Wildcats' first game-winning field goal with less than one minute remaining since 1980, while his four makes tied for second in school history. He also was first-team Academic All-Big 12.
Jack Cantele might have missed his true calling, by the way: Golf. He lettered four years in golf, earning all-city honors in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and all-state honors in 2010 and 2011.
He also held the low city scoring average and the second lowest round in Kansas state high school golf history with a 5-under par 67 in 2010. That's pretty impressive for a youngster, I'd say.