Oregon lands a kicker

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.– As one of the top kickers in the country, what better time to make your college announcement than at the most elite kicking event in the nation: The Chris Sailer Kicking Top 12 Camp. Aliso Viejo (Calif.) Aliso Niguel kicker Mike Bowlin had plenty to be excited about on Friday. Not only was he kicking off his first day at camp, but he was celebrating the announcement of his college decision.

"The coach told me to call him when I made my decision so this morning I just gave him a call and let him know that I accepted his offer and I'm really excited," Bowlin said on Friday afternoon.

Oregon was Bowlin's only offer but it became clear to the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder that he didn't need to wait on any more.

"My main concern was being close to home so that was really great and they have one of the top football programs in the country," he said. "Boston College was looking at me, Notre Dame almost offered me. I grew up as a USC fan actually but a lot of my cousins and relatives live in Oregon and two of my cousins just graduated from there."

The first day of camp in Sherman Oaks was the field goal kicking day and Bowlin had a chance to show off the big leg that landed him a Pac-10 offer. On Saturday he will have an opportunity to show it off even more, as kickoffs will be the focus.

"I think my best thing is distance and kickoffs for sure," he said. "Freshman year I'm going to have a chance to start because the starter is graduating and then there are two walk-on kids so I'll probably be kicking off starting freshman year."