Last week, I had the opportunity to work with Adrian Incapie Esqueda from Monterrey, Mexico. Adrian and his friend Ricardo had been referred to me by former NFL kicker Raul Allegre.
I had worked with a couple of kicker hopefuls from Mexico who had predominately been soccer players their whole lives. It can be difficult to get these guys a serious look from pro teams since they usually don't have any American football game experience, at any level. However, Adrian's situation is different. He played football at the university level in Monterrey. Therefore, he has had a few years of actual game experience, which is huge. In fact, at some of their biggest games, the attendance would be as high as 40,000.
As I have blogged about before, it is one thing to kick of the "sticks" when no one is around, but it is totally different when you have a "snap, hold, kick" operation. Let alone a real game.
Adrian is a "combo" kicker, which means that he can kick and punt. During our sessions, he punted a few balls that had over 5 second hang times. However, I believe that he is a better kicker. One thing that NFL coaches will look for in a kicker is the "pop." That sight and sound where the ball takes off when kicked. Adrian has that "pop." He gets good height on his field goals and easily has the strength to kick 60 yard field goals.
On kickoffs, Adrian easily averaged over 4 seconds on hang time with his best one reaching 4.3 seconds. We kicked from the 30 yard line and he was kicking the ball 2-3 yards deep on average.
Adrian's form is fairly polished and as he implements the few adjustments that I recommended, I believe that should be given a serious look by the NFL. Adrian will be attending the annual Pro Camp that Louie Aguiar and I host each year in Las Vegas. This year's camp will be from March 31st - April 5th. April 5th is our Pro Combine where NFL and UFL teams attend in person to view pro prospects.
I was very impressed with Adrian's kicking and I am looking forward to seeing him in Vegas.
