5-star kicker pledge Jacob Kauwe: "Nowhere was like Kentucky"

Harsh football weather conditions don’t exist for new Kentucky specialist Jacob Kauwe. Worried about his ability to show up in big moments to close out the season when temperatures drop in Lexington? Just ask what the Billings, Montana native deals with back home.

“Let me put it this way: I had to shovel the fields multiple times last winter to kick on,” the 2024 recruit said on this week’s edition of 630 WLAP’s Sunday Morning Sports Talk. “We had school canceled because it was just too cold — it was -55 degrees last winter with the wind chill. It’s a different beast out here. It really prepares you to kick in a lot of different conditions.”

Those efforts to clear off the playing surface and get kicks off regardless of weather conditions played a part in Kauwe’s journey to five-star status as a kicker and punter, per Kohl’s Kicking. He’s a top-30 prospect at both positions, emerging as one of the top specialists in all of high school football.

Kentucky special teams and running backs coach Jay Boulware, along with quality control assistant Mike Priefer Jr. noticed. Kauwe attended a Kohl’s Professional Football Kicking Camp and separated himself from his peers, leading to a conversation with the staff. Boulware and Priefer broke down his film and saw a clear fit, leading to an official visit from June 13-15.

From there, a scholarship offer, followed by a quick commitment on June 20.

100% Committed!!🔵⚪ @UKCoachStoops @CoachJ_Boulware @PrieferJr1 #bbn pic.twitter.com/l3EAocFQq8

— Jacob Kauwe (@JacobKauwe16) June 20, 2023

“I’m not surprised not a lot of Montana kids have been out in Kentucky [laughs],” Kauwe told KSR. “There aren’t a lot of us, and it’s a long and expensive trip. I got in contact with Coach Boulware first, went to a Kohl’s Camp and that put me on the radar of a lot of college coaches. I was able to perform well there, then Coach Boulware and Coach Priefer explained it to me kind of like a phone book. They go through and watch all of the top players’ film and found mine, liked mine the most.

“After going through every kick I made in high school, every kick I made in Kohl’s competitions, Coach Boulware made the trip out to watch one of my workouts. That’s where he did an athletic evaluation of me on site, then shortly thereafter he got in contact with me again and said, ‘Hey, we really love you. We think you’re special.’ That’s when we set up an official visit, made the trip — and it’s a journey.”

It’s a journey that led Kauwe to a commitment, bringing a blue-chip talent to Kentucky’s specialist room. When talking things over with the staff, it was hardly a conversation after the scholarship offer came. The Wildcats had everything he was looking for in a college, a place he felt he could develop under the bright lights of Kroger Field playing SEC football.

“Kentucky is the biggest stage with the biggest opportunity to develop. Coach Boulware’s track record with kickers, if you look back at all the places he’s been, it’s amazing,” he said. “Everyone I talked to, nowhere was like Kentucky and the plan they laid out for me to get better. That was really important to me. From the first conversation Coach (Jay) Boulware had with my parents, it was, ‘This is what we’re going to do to get your kid better.’

“That’s what is important to me, someone helping me be the best I can be and performing on the biggest stage. That fits Kentucky to a T.”

🏠 @UKFootball @UKCoachStoops @CoachJ_Boulware @PrieferJr1 pic.twitter.com/epVrcytahq

— Jacob Kauwe (@JacobKauwe16) June 22, 2023

So how do you improve as a five-star specialist? Where do you go from here? Kauwe says there’s always room for improvement, and he trusts Boulware’s vision to make that happen.

“There’s so much I can work on, drill work I’ll work on with Coach Boulware once I’m there. It’s always a battle of getting more consistent as a kicker. You’re never consistent enough,” he told KSR. “There are so many technical things I can still work on and ways I can max out my craft to be the greatest I can be. That’s really just the goal. There are always more levels to reach and places to climb.”

And yes, he knows the pressure that comes with being a kicker at Kentucky, especially hearing about the program’s recent struggles at the position and with the special teams unit overall. He embraces that pressure and, respectfully, that’s why he’s coming in.

Blue-chip recruits are supposed to do blue-chip things. That’s exactly what he plans to do, no matter who he has to compete with at the position.

“A lot of people are really excited about it that they are getting a highly-touted person like myself to come in,” Kauwe said. “That was never a main topic of focus (fixing the kicking position) — I’m ready to come in and compete, whatever the spot is or what the situation is. Coach Boulware made it clear I’m his dude and he really believes in me.

“They gave me the scholarship and I’m ready to come in and compete. Whatever and whoever I have to come in and compete with, that’s alright.”

What should you expect from the Billings native as a kicker — he can punt too, but says he’s a “kicker at heart” — when he gets to Lexington? Will the Wildcats have range issues moving forward?

Kauwe says he’s comfortable knocking them through from basically anywhere, short or long. No obvious limit to speak of.

“It’s hard to put a number on it, but it’s definitely into the 50s,” he said. “I can hit them from pretty far out, for sure.”