The nation’s No. 1 high school kicker lives in Meck County, and he’s just getting started
No high school football player in America has made as many field goals this season as Hough High School sophomore Nolan Hauser, and probably no kicker in America has his backstory.
First off, let’s start with the name. You say “HOO-zer,” not “HOW-ser.”
“His dad got pretty mad at me when I read the roster on the first day last year,” Hough football coach Matt Jenkins said with a big laugh Sunday morning.
Jenkins said Hough has been blessed with many great kickers over the years, including Cam Lewis, who started as a freshman at Oregon and is now the Ducks’ sophomore kicker.
But he thinks Houser, 16, may have an even higher ceiling.
“I think Nolan may be the best of all the kickers we’ve had,” Jenkins said. “Cam had a really strong leg, and Nolan isn’t quite as strong, but he’s a sophomore. I’m comparing Cam as a high school junior and senior when he had a couple years in the weight room. But the thing with Nolan is — his mentality is second to none with kickers I’ve coached over the last 30 years.
“Obviously, I don’t want to jinx the poor kid, but he’s got some ice in there now. I don’t think the situation ever bothers him and some of that goes to the pedigree of his family.”
OK, here’s where we pause and handle that backstory.
The Clemson connection
Hauser’s father, Scott, played baseball at Clemson from 1995-97. His sister, Ella, is a freshman at Clemson now, where she plays on the soccer team. And Hauser’s mother, the former Sheri Bueter, was an All-American on the Clemson’s women’s soccer team in the ‘90s and once played for the U.S. Women’s National team.
“His family is all high-level athletes,” Jenkins said, “and I don’t think the situation ever gets too big for him.”
Hauser was with his family in Clemson on Saturday night, watching the Tigers hold off Boston College 19-13. After the game, standing in the school’s basketball arena, Hauser called and talked about his season — and it’s going pretty well.
He has made 24-of-25 point-after-touchdown attempts and he’s made 11 field goals, which leads the nation, and he hasn’t missed one. Three players are tied for second nationally in field goals made with 10, and that list includes Charlotte Latin kicker Dave Mosrie.
“You have to have short-term memory,” Hauser said of his position. “You can’t let one thing take away from the rest of the game. I stay to myself during games because I realize that I’ve got to stay locked in and not let it to get my head if I hit a bad ball. If I miss one (my teammates) trust me a lot, and it’s just them saying keep my head up. They’re very supportive and respect my work ethic, I would say. They know I’ll get back out there and do my thing.”
Never nervous Nolan
Two weeks ago, when Hough beat two-time N.C. 4AA state champion Chambers, Jenkins called on Hauser three times in a low-scoring, close game against a team ranked in the top 15 in the country.
That could be a big ask for a lot of 10th-graders.
Hauser, however, made all three of his field goal attempts in a 16-10 win at Charlotte’s Memorial Stadium. He also had a PAT — meaning he scored as many points as the champs.
Even better, Hauser knocked all of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, leaving Chambers’ dangerous return men — players who could’ve changed the game with one big return — basically standing out there with their hands in their pockets.
“I don’t get nervous except when it’s huge,” Hauser said. “I think of it as just another kick, another kickoff. I remember I had a kid screaming at me the whole time I was warming up at Memorial. ‘Hey 81!’ There were so many people screaming.
“You can’t let that stuff get to you and just keep working.”
Pee Wee starts and important decisions
Hauser started kicking, almost on a whim, in Pee Wee ball, where he was playing quarterback, running back and defensive back. His team needed a kicker, so he volunteered. Hauser was a natural in kicking and, like his mother, he also played soccer.
Two years ago, he gave up soccer and started working full-time with Charlotte-based trainer Dan Orner, who has helped developed NFL kickers and punters from the Charlotte region like Ryan Succop and Bradley Pinion, who won the Super Bowl last year with Tampa Bay. Orner played college football at Minnesota and North Carolina and later played in the NFL for the Vikings.
“He reached out to me in seventh or eighth grade,” Hauser said, “and I went out to his things, and I loved the atmosphere and competition. And I couldn’t even tell you how much better I got.”
Hauser made the N.C. Super Team, for the state’s best players, as a freshman. But after more time with Orner, he said he’s much better than in the spring.
He’s made a 47-yard field goal this season and a 58-yarder in practice. He said if Jenkins asked him to make a 50-yarder to win a state title in December, it wouldn’t be a problem.
But most of all, Hauser said he just wants his team — No. 1 in The Observer’s Sweet 16 and No. 1 in North Carolina — to just keep winning and keep getting closer to that first state title.
“Coach just keeps telling us that we need to keep practicing like we did going into that Chambers game,” Hauser said. “We were practicing the best we’ve ever practiced, and we need to keep that up, get the first seed for the playoffs and get home games and keep going. Our defense is looking amazing and so is our offense. Credit goes to them for always putting me in good positions.
“And if they need me, I’m ready.”
The Nolan Hauser File
Hobbies: Water skiing on Lake Norman, hanging out with friends, “kicking (footballs) as much as I can.”
Last Book Read: ”Lord of the Flies”
Last Movie Watched: ”Avengers: Endgame” on Disney+
Favorite TV Show: ”Yellowstone” on Paramount+
What’s on your playlist?: A little bit of Drake, some Lil’ Baby, plus a little bit of country, some Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen. “I like stuff that gets me going and gets me hyped up.”
