#ForTheBrand Friday Recruiting Report: Jack Kalman/Orono (2022) (Free)
LONG LAKE– We’ve started a new theme this week at Northstar Football News. Fridays going forward will be the #ForTheBrand here at NFN and we will look at a punter, kicker, long snappers in Minnesota that look to play football at the next level. Our first report is on Jack Kalman who is a punter and kicker from the Orono Spartans. We chatted with Jack about his #ForTheBrand journey, his recruiting interest, and much more.
Get to Know Jack Kalman
Kalman got his start from kicking when he reached his freshman year at Orono. Kalman’s played football since 4th grade, but had played mostly quarterback, wide receiver, defensive line, and defensive back before finding his love for kicking in 2017-2018. The entire Spartans roster tried out for the position, but Kalman beat all of them out as just a freshman. Kalman is certainly the specialist as he’s the kicker, punter, and kickoff specialist for Orono. Two strengths Kalman has is the power in his kicking leg and if the Spartans need a fake on 4th down, Kalman has a pretty strong arm to from his younger days of playing quarterback.
Favorites About Being the Kicker/Punter
The best part to Jack Kalman’s effort of being the kicking specialist for the Spartans was punting and kicking is that he’s in a unique position and had to develop an all new skill set when it came to kicking the ball. Kalman is all about the new, as he “is perfecting new forms” on his kicks with the help from our guys from the Special Teams Football Academy based here in the Twin Cities, that helps specialists from all over the country with their craft.
College Interest
As a sophomore, Kalman already has a handful of college coaches following him on his Instagram and Chris Husby and Brian Jackson have been great at getting Kalman the exposure he deserves to kick at the next level. While training in Georgia over the winter, Kalman took an unoffical visit to Georgia Tech when the Yellow Jackets took on the Georgia Bulldogs. Jack calls it “a dream” to play college football in the future.
Working on Next Season
The Orono Spartans coaches told Jack to focus this offseason to not wrapping his foot around the ball, as Kalman had some kicks this year that sailed left due to wrapping his foot. They’ve been working on drills to fix it this offseason. Another key thing a specialist like Kalman is working on is his consistency as a kicker in which he’s been “practicing and grinding” to his craft all offseason long since the season ended.
Jack’s Mentor
We talked a little bit about him earlier, but Jack’s kicking mentor is Chris Husby of the Special Teams Football Academy. Jack told us Chris has shown him “all that I know about kicking and punting” he told NFN. Jack has been taking private lessons and attending camps from Husby since his freshman year, where he came in with no fundementals with just a strong leg and has helped Jack be the only kicker/punter on the Spartans JV and Varsity football team.
What Makes Jack Kalman a MN #ForTheBrand Specialist?
The great effort Kalman has put in from his start of freshman year to now, make him a perfect #ForTheBrand specialist coming out of the great state of Minnesota. Kalman said “I won’t stop learning and pushing myself to be the best possible person on and off the field” he said in his final statement to Northstar Football News.
Kalman is ranked 3rd in the Class of 2022 by the National Kicking Rankings as a kicker and is ranked 2nd as a punter. You can check out Kalman’s Hudl profile (click here)