MSU freshman kicker David Rayner didn’t have extensive kicking coaching in high school. He knew his chances to play this year would be slim.
“Originally I was supposed to be redshirted,” said Rayner, an Oxford, Mich., native and former soccer player. “Coaches said that they were going to try and redshirt me and that was what I was thinking. I was getting ready for just a whole season of getting technique down.”
But after senior kicker David Schaefer and sophomore kicker Michael Servis combined to miss three field goals and two extra points in the Spartans’ 27-26 loss at Northwestern on Sept. 29, the job was wide open.
Rayner watched that game at his parents’ home in Oxford and wondered if his playing chances would improve.
“After the third missed field goal, my dad said to me that I might want to go out in the yard and start kicking,” Rayner said. “He told me that I might want to warm up and get ready. I was like, ‘we’ll see.’”
But Rayner showed improved consistency in practice and ended up with both field goal and extra point duties in MSU’s win over Iowa on Saturday.
The former soccer sweeper - who scored 11 goals and tallied eight assists in his senior year high school season - responded well, converting on four extra points and a 22-yard field goal.
“He did a tremendous job out there,” said MSU head coach Bobby Williams, who named Rayner the starter until further notice. “I was impressed with his focus since it was his first game. Hopefully he can continue this kind of consistency.”
Although he looked fluid and calm on the field, Rayner said it was a challenge control-ling his emotions, especially during his first extra point attempt, he said.
“I didn’t think I was going to be able to move,” Rayner said. “My knees weren’t moving real well, and I was trying to block things out mentally. I kind of settled down after the third P.A.T.”
And so far, the transition from soccer player to football kicker has gone well, he said.
“I was never really coached in high school,” Rayner said. “We had a coach - he kicked a little bit before and told me some things, but we never had a real coach at the position. Now that I have a coach, I can get a sense for what I need to do to improve.”
With seven games left, consistency and fundamentals will be important for Rayner’s success, special teams coordinator Sal Sunseri said.
Rayner has improved his technique by keeping his head down during kicks and by focusing on the target, he said.
“He has a very strong leg,” Sunseri said. “If I say right now, it’s anywhere from 40 to 50 yards. He does have an extremely strong leg, but like anything else he just has to work on the basic fundamentals to hit that ball consistently.”
