N.C. home to talented kicker
Laurinburg (N.C.) Scotland County kicker Jay Wooten has been getting some looks from several programs.
Wooten kicks a very high, straight ball and figures to be one of the top prospects at his position in the Mid-Atlantic region in the class of 2007.
Advertisement
"Right now everything is picking up a little bit because right now is the time that the schools go looking for juniors and all that," Wooten said. "Kicker is a tough position because it's usually the last position to get offered and all that."
Auburn, Penn State, North Carolina and Florida all are showing some interest.
Wooten recently made visits to Chapel Hill and Auburn.
"I liked it there a lot," Wooten said. "They make you feel real at home. I talked to several of the coaches there and I like them. They are all good guys and I think they are pretty sincere."
The scenery in Chapel Hill also has impressed Wooten.
"The stadium and the campus are also real nice," he said. "So I liked that about it."
His trip to Auburn was for the Tigers' Junior Day event a couple of weeks ago.
"Talked with all of their coaches and their special teams coach and really liked it down there, too," he said. "They seem very interested in special teams and that's a big part of their practice and their games. I really liked that."
The focus on football on The Plains of Alabama also was intriguing to Wooten.
"It's definitely a football school," he said. "The stadium is right in the middle of campus and there are 87,000 in the stands. It's big-time football, it's in the SEC and I liked the way they handle their players.
"It just seemed like a good program."
Wooten has had to overcome some challenges to become a Division I-A prospect. He was diagnosed with diabetes during his freshman season.
"It's made me grow up and mature," he said. "Really more than anything, it was a setback at the time, but I see it more as a plus because it's really made me grow up and take on more responsibility.
"I've learned from that and it will help me overcome any other obstacles that may come my way."