Nelms hopes to bring same tenacity to
fied as e as on mond or reyonds
By Adam Carrington
MDJ Sports Correspondent
Andrew Nelms has one of the
more pressure-filled jobs as a
kicker for Pope football, and
as a relief pitcher on Pope’s
state championship baseball
team, he’s got experience in
handling it.
Nelms, a j unior, is coming
off an experience of a lifetime
last spring in helping the G reyhounds
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win a state baseball title.
“Playoffs were crazy,” Nelms
said. “That dog pile. I’ll pay so
much money to do that again.”
He pitched sparingly in the
playoffs as Pope swept all
five teams it faced, but when
he is on the mound, he has a
tendency to concentrate on
what is in front of him and
block everything else out. He
said his heart was racing the
first few times he pitched in
a Pope varsity uniform.
“I have the same mindset every
time I go on the mound,”
Nelms said. “I’m locked into
the batter. I don’t see anything
outside. I’m zoned in on the
batter and the strike zone.
Everything else is irrelevant.”
Nelms has that same mindset
as a kicker. As a sophomore
last season, he made 18 of 23
extra point attempts and was
2-for-2 in field goals.
Nelms said extra points can
be missed by taking the wrong
steps or being nervous.
Being a pitcher has helped
calm those nerves.
“Having that pitching background
really helps in the kicking
game because he doesn’t
get rattled,” Pope coach Tab
G riffin said. “He’s mentally
tough, and if he does have
a mess up, which is going to
happen, he’s able to bounce
back from it, like if he throws
a bad pitch.”
Looking back on last season,
Nelms said he kicked well the
first few games. He did experience
a brief slump before snapping
out of it later in the season.
O nce the state title celebration
ended, Nelms said he spent
much of his summer honing his
skills as a kicker by attending college
camps at Auburn, Alabama,
V anderbilt and K ennesaw State.
While he will be counted as
the placekicker, his strength is
kicking the ball off. The hang
time he is able to put on most
kicks helps pin opposing teams
deep in their own territory, and
that success all comes down
to taking the right number of
steps and his finish.
“My finish is what I focus on
most,” Nelms said. “I get ( my
foot) up and leap after I kick
the ball. It’s like a momentum
leap. It’s common with a lot
of kickers.”
His primary goal with Pope
this season is being consistent
on kicks, which is more important
to him than the long
field goals. O n kickoffs, his
main focus is keeping the other
team from returning kicks.
Not only does Nelms want
to help steer the G reyhounds
back into the Class AAAAAA
state playoffs, but he also
wouldn’t mind getting college
attention.
He has yet to make up his mind
if he aspires to be a kicker or
a pitcher once he leaves Pope.
“It’s wherever I get the best
opportunity,” Nelms said. “I
would definitely play both in
college.”