Junior to Watch: Nathan Stokes
Junior to Watch: Nathan Stokes
School: Ozark, Mo.
Advertisement
Position: Punter/Kicker
Size and speed: He is 6-foot-0 and weighs 170 pounds. He ran a 4.73 electronic timed 40 dash on his high school's track.
Statistics: Stokes averaged 43.7 yards per punt and hit six of 10 field goal attempts with a long of 47 yards.
The four he missed were all over 50 yard attempts.
He has hit a 63 yarder in practice.
Honors: Nathan Stokes made first team all-conference, all-district, all-area. He was also named to the All Southwest Missouri Coaches Association team as both a punter and a kicker and first team all-state as a punter.
Favorite Schools: Stokes is hearing from Kansas State, Nebraska, Purdue and Missouri with Kansas State recruiting the hardest and Nebraska being the odds on favorite, as they are his dream school and his parents' favorite as well.
If he could make his visits today, he would like to go to:
Nebraska - "They are a great football school and my dream school."
Missouri - "They are the home state school so they are close to home."
Texas - "The great state of Texas, the TV coverage, they are a Big 12 power and the weather would be warm."
Texas A&M - "I have friends in the area and they have a great rivalry with Texas. The 12th man and their tradition are legendary. They are a good program."
Okahoma - "Good ole Sooners. The tradition, a good program and I have friends in the area. They have a nice stadium with good grass."
Skinny: "Distance might be a factor, because I'd like to stay close or at least go somewhere in the Big 12. The academic standards are the most important, as well as a good community and facilities. I would like to play for Christian coaches, if possible, as religion is important to me."
He said of his strong points: "I'm a team player and my work ethic."
He described himself as: "A motivated player."
Stokes has attended camps at Kansas State, Ray Guy's camp at Texas and Pelfrey's camp at North Texas State.
Stokes is undecided on a major for college, though he has already set a sports goal for next season.
"I want to make the USA Today All-American list as a punter."
When asked about his toughest opposing player, he said, "Dre Dokes of Kickapoo High. When we played them I had to kick away from him, because he's really dangerous. He burned us my sophomore year for a touchdown."
Nathan benches 195 pounds and squats 230 pounds.
He has a cumulative GPA of 3.8 and took the ACT on Feb. 9.