Clutch kicks, season success show that bench life isn’t all bad
At the Buffs’ Rocky Mountain Showdown season opener against CSU, CU students held their breath as Kevin Eberhart prepared to kick the game-winning field goal during his first college game as a starting kicker.
Eberhart’s winning kick sent a powerful message that he was ready to be CU’s starting kicker for the 2007 season.
Four weeks later against powerhouse Oklahoma, Eberhart was once again placed in a position to win the game for the Buffs. Eberhart’s career-long 45-yard field goal with 0:00 left on the clock sealed one of the biggest upsets in college football this season.
Eberhart graduated in May 2007 with a degree in aerospace engineering and is now a graduate student at CU. He’s waited a long time for his opportunity to play. Eberhart stood as a backup for Mason Crosby during the entirety of his undergraduate career.
Eberhart, once a highly sought-after recruit out of Broomfield High School, sees the time he spent on the bench as an important growing experience.
“Well you know, it really was tough and it really changed my perspective. It ended up being a good thing for me in a lot of respects,” Eberhart said. “I got a long way in school and got a good education and it really gave me a chance to kind of sit back and view things from a little bit different angle then people normally get to.”
Head Coach Dan Hawkins praises the powerful commitment that got Eberhart where he is today.
“It was obviously very spectacular,” Hawkins said. “We always try to talk to our guys about life lessons but here’s a guy that basically lived in the shadows for four years with Mason, pays his dues, hangs around and had an unbelievable spectacular moment in the sun.”
Eberhart’s long wait for his chance to start is finally over and now that it’s finally come, he is determined to make the best of it.
“You know a lot of people told me coming out of high school that all you can ever really ask for is one shot, you know one year to do your thing, and I have that and I knew for a long time that I’d get that chance,” Eberhart said. “Now it’s here and it’s time to make the best of it.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brad Cochi at Bradley.Cochi@Colorado.EDU
