After five years at Cal, kicker finds new home

FLORENCE - Just one year ago, Tom Schneider was preparing for his senior season of football and looking forward to earning a shot at kicking in the NFL.

Those plans changed with one swing of his right leg.

Schneider, who enjoyed three good years as California's kicker, tore his quad muscle in pregame drills before the Bears' season opener against Tennessee. He missed the entire season, and because he was redshirted as a freshman, his eligibility at Cal was up.

"I petitioned for a sixth year, but it was denied," Schneider said. "It was disappointing to miss my final season. Still, I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I knew that things would work out well."

After being denied another year of eligibility in Division I, Schneider found out that he could play his final season at the Division II level. He began checking out the top Division II programs, and he looked strongly at national champion Valdosta State as well as Delta State.

Something caught his eye when he checked out North Alabama.

"I looked at the statistics, and it was obvious that UNA took special teams seriously," he said. "I saw that UNA kicked a lot of field goals last year, so I decided to check it out. I contacted coach (kicking coach Mike) King and came for a visit. Everything worked out, and I showed up for fall practice."

Schneider did not expect to be handed the kicking job just because he came from a Top 25 Division I program. Senior Kenny Spencer, who was used on kickoffs and backed up Scott Shurden on field goals and extra points last year, was the top kicker entering fall camp.

The competition between Schneider and Spencer has been one of the highlights of fall camp. Both have been consistent and have shown the ability to make the long kicks.

"I can't say enough about the other kickers here," Schneider said. "I had an open mind coming in, but these guys have far exceeded my expectations. Kenny is a great kicker and has been real helpful and supportive of me. The competition has made us both better."

The competition ended when Spencer was declared ineligible due to a class he took not transferring. Spencer will redshirt this season and have one year of eligibility remaining.

With Schneider handling field goals and extra points, and junior Will Batson handling the punting and kickoff duties, UNA coach Mark Hudspeth said the kicking game should be a strength this year.

"We're very pleased with our kickers," he said. "Tom has kicked well all through camp. He is a guy that has kicked in front of some huge crowds, and has a lot of range. We won't hesitate to try a long kick with him."

In three years with the Bears, Schneider made 158 of 161 extra point attempts and was 33 of 52 on field goal attempts. He had a long of 55 yards against Stanford in 2006.

Schneider still hopes to get a shot the NFL, but he's interested in more than impressing the pro scouts this season.

"I know this team has been close to winning a national championship," he said. "We feel like this can be the year we put it all together, and I'm excited about being a part of it. I love kicking long field goals, but I'll be more than happy to hit extra points all day if our offense keeps scoring touchdowns."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@timesdaily.com.