Over the course of three consecutive losing seasons, one positive remained constant for Cornell’s football program — the presence of senior kicker Brad Greenway. The Encinitas, Calif. native has led the Red in points in each of his three seasons on the varsity squad. It was this level of excellence on the field that earned Greenway consideration as a legitimate NFL prospect.
After completing 4-of-5 field goals and 14-of-15 extra-point attempts in 2010, Greenway spent his summer working out with the San Diego Chargers, as former teammate Brian Walters ’10 competed for a roster spot. Walters lived with Greenway and his family during training camp, and ultimately made it to the big show after capturing the national spotlight with a 103-yard kickoff return during the preseason.
“It was a great experience,” Greenway said. “It was awesome to be able to be around him and some of the other NFL players and kind of see … how much work they put in to do what they do in the NFL and how hard it actually is.”
Heading into the 2011 campaign, Greenway ranks third all-time among Cornell kickers in points; however, he still sees plenty of room for improvement, especially after digesting all that he learned from the pros over the summer.
“I was fortunate enough to work out with them, and I think it has benefited me a lot,” Greenway said of the experience. “I got to the next level of kicking, and I’ve now taken their workouts here with me, so hopefully I can join [the NFL] next year.”
For kickers, confidence is always the greatest key to success, Greenway explained. With an offense led by sophomore quarterback Jeff Mathews and a relatively inexperienced line, head coach Kent Austin is pleased to have Greenway’s stability on the Cornell sideline.
“When you have an offense that struggled last year protecting the quarterback, and didn’t have as many scoring opportunities as we will hopefully have this year, you have trust as a coach putting Brad out there,” Austin said. “When he’s within his range the likelihood is that he’s going to get us three points, and so … we don’t have to take as much … risk knowing that we have Brad there.”
“I’m pretty close with all my teammates,” Greenway added. “A lot of teams’ kickers are kind of outliers, but I feel like I’m really good friends with pretty much everyone on the team. I know everyone’s got my back no matter what.”
Original Author: Evan Rich