LAST-SECOND BURDEN ON LEAST-RECRUITED POSITION KICKER AN AFTERTHOUGHT UNTIL GAME ON THE LINE.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

Tony Binswanger of Concord De La Salle kicked a 42-yard field goal in a big high school game in Hawaii this season. He booted a 50-yarder in front of 30,000 people in a home game in Northern California.

His kickoffs routinely sail through end zones, sometimes even hitting the goalpost uprights. And he has connected on a 63-yard field goal in practice, another indication he has one of the best legs in the nation.

The college-scholarship offers should be rolling in, right? Not quite.

Binswanger has received no offers, even though his talent is evident and he plays for the top-ranked high school program in the nation.

And he's not alone. Kickers routinely are ignored in the recruiting process - what little there is for kickers. With an 85-scholarship limit, many coaches ask them to walk on rather than offer scholarships, even though kickers regularly win or lose games in the final seconds.

Some believe that strategy is misguided.

``It's a very difficult process, and it all stems from that most coaches don't understand that much about kicking,'' said Chris Sailer, a former Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks and UCLA kicker now playing for the Arizona Rattlers in the Arena Football League. ``It's hard for them to evaluate high school kickers. If you look at the majority of college coaching staffs, there is no kicking coach.

``They don't really know how to watch film and evaluate them properly. It almost makes them fear pulling the trigger when they're not sure themselves. I work with a lot of coaches from across the country - programs I have no affiliation with. They'll call me because they respect my ability to evaluate talent.''

Binswanger has no idea where he'll kick in college. He's been contacted by just three schools: Notre Dame, Oregon and USC. They're interested in him, so he's interested in them.

Half of the six schools he's interested in - Miami, Florida and Texas - probably never have heard of him.

It's a tough process for a confident 17-year-old such as Binswanger to understand.

``At times you start to wonder, `How much better do I have to get?' '' Binswanger asked. ``But it's almost an inspiration. I say, `Well, maybe I need to do something more. Maybe I do need to just get better.'

``Eventually, you will get something.''

National powerhouse Florida State has been haunted by kicking debacles for a decade, during which the phrase ``wide right'' became linked with the program.

When Xavier Beitia's 43-yarder went wide left in the final seconds against Miami on Saturday, it was the fourth time since 1991 the Seminoles lost to the Hurricanes on what would've been the game-winning field goal.

Yet, only in the past few years did coach Bobby Bowden decide to actively recruit a premier kicker and give him a scholarship.

And Bowden has little competition in this regard: There are no recruiting wars for kickers.

Apparently, not even Internet sites that specialize in recruiting take kickers seriously. Rick Kimbrel, who works for Rivals.com, said his site lists the top high school kickers in the nation, but they're more of an ``afterthought.''

``To be honest with you, I don't pay attention to them,'' Kimbrel said. ``In my business, the interest isn't really there. I do think they should go to camps. I think a kicker can't rely on his performance. He has to sell himself and go to those camps, like Ray Guy's. People are actually getting on the phone and making contacts. That's so darn important.

``If I had a son that wanted to be a kicker, I'd try to get him to every camp I could.''

USC and UCLA have experienced their share of kicking problems even though they dedicate several scholarships to kickers, more than most schools.

UCLA has four kickers/punters on scholarship, although two - kicker Chris Griffith and punter Nate Fikse - are in their final year of eligibility. USC has three.

The Bruins have a one-day kicking camp every summer, like many schools.

``That's how we found (kicker Chris) Kluwe and Fikse,'' UCLA coach Bob Toledo said. ``And we encourage walk-ons to come out if they're really good. ... Special teams are important, as we all know.''

Toledo said that with a smile, obviously thinking of UCLA's one-point loss to Oregon on Saturday. Griffith, who's been reliable throughout his career, had an extra point blocked and missed a 46-yard field goal that would've won the game. Nearly the same thing happened last year against the Ducks, when Griffith missed a 50-yarder.

USC knows all about kicking mishaps. The Trojans struggled in that department under former coach Paul Hackett.

David Davis, a junior-college transfer, was the Pacific-10 Conference's most accurate kicker last year, when he made 15 of 18 field goals. But Davis, who works with a personal coach, missed 3 of 4 field goals to start the season and lost his job to another junior-college transfer, Ryan Killeen.

Killeen understands coaches' hesitation to give scholarships out of high school. Rather than walk on at a Division I school, he chose the junior-college route.

``In high school, kickers kick off a tee, and when you come to college, you kick off the ground,'' Killeen said. ``For many kickers, that's a big step. Some can adapt to it quickly. Some can't. The decision for the coaches is that they don't know if he can do it or not.

``That's why they like to get kickers out of junior college. They can see how you do in the college atmosphere.''

UCLA redshirt freshman Justin Medlock, one of the top kicking prospects in the nation out of Fremont High last year, kicked off the ground his senior year of high school. Medlock went to five camps and four offered scholarships.

Killeen is kicking for a Top 25 team now, but he drew no interest out of high school. He made his own highlight reel and sent it to coaches. Still, nothing.

USC offered him a scholarship only after a successful junior-college season. One of USC coach Pete Carroll's first signings was punter Tom Malone.

``I think it's a huge priority,'' Carroll said. ``These guys score points. ... We don't need to recruit a kicker for next year, but if we saw anyone we loved, we'd get him. Next year, we'll be in the business of looking for one.''

Sailer, who is a personal coach in Burbank, received a scholarship to UCLA out of Notre Dame. He made 22 field goals his senior year with the Bruins, in 1994, still a national record.

He helped Thousand Oaks punter/kicker Jesse Ainsworth, with whom he's worked, secure a scholarship to Arizona State in June, the summer before his senior season.

Sailer made calls to coaching colleagues on Ainsworth's behalf. When Ainsworth was offered a scholarship, he canceled other scheduled camps and accepted almost immediately.

``I was really lucky,'' Ainsworth said. ``Arizona State has three kickers, and two are seniors. They're in a bit of a bind. I was relieved and surprised. Because (they offered early), it was one of the reasons I did say yes. I loved Arizona State, but it's pretty rare. Most (kickers) walk on as a redshirt.''

Sailer said he's planning a national kicking competition in January at UNLV for kickers and college coaches.

``It's a chance for kids across the country who really want a chance to prove themselves, kids in states like North Dakota and Massachusetts who may never get the chance,'' Sailer said. ``There's a lot of kids out there who deserve to play Division I football, but because they're not evaluated properly or they never have a chance to be seen, they don't. It's the nature of the position itself.''

And it's why kickers are largely shunned until that last second - in both games and the recruiting process.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Saturday's games

--UCLA at Cal, 4 p.m., TBS / 1150-AM

--USC vs. Washington, 12:30 p.m., Ch. 7 / 1540-AM

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) KILLEEN

(2 -- color) GRIFFITH