Kornacki: What Makes Nordin Tick
9/17/2017 4:36:00 PM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Quinn Nordin has kicked more field goals in the first three games of a season than any University of Michigan kicker in at least 30 years, according to available statistics.
Nordin nailed all five attempts in Saturday's (Sept. 16) 29-13 win over Air Force and has made good on 11 of 13 attempts. That's two more field goals than All-America placekicker Remy Hamilton had in the first three games of 1994, when he set the school single-season record of 22 field goals.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh likes everything he's seeing of the redshirt freshman from Rockford, Michigan.
"He's kicking confident and relaxed," said Harbaugh, "and kicking the ball with plenty of room to spare, and not hugging the uprights, either. They're going down through the middle, and it's great to see. He's not getting over-emotional about it; he's just going out there and doing his job."
Nordin, the USA Today All-America first-team kicker as a senior at Rockford High, had a season of eligibility saved by sitting last season while senior Kenny Allen was banging in 19 of 23 field goal attempts.
But Nordin's unleashed now and giving Harbaugh complete comfort in calling his number if the ball is at the opposition's 35-yard line or closer.
Nordin became the first Michigan freshman with two 50-yarders in one game by hitting them from 55 and 50 yards against Florida in the opener.
He had a long field goal of 49 yards against Air Force and also drilled them from 26, 29, 35 and 36 yards. That gave Nordin five in the game, tying the school single-game mark he now shares with Harbaugh teammate Mike Gillette (1988, Minnesota), J.D. Carlson (1990, Illinois) and K.C. Lopata (2009, Minnesota).
When asked about equaling the record, Nordin told reporters, "I'm just trying to go out and do my job as best as possible whenever Coach (Harbaugh) calls me."
Now, that's not very flashy. But make no mistake about it, Nordin isn't short on style. That's evidenced by the jagged cuts into his hair on the sides of his head, taken directly from Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn, the off-center pitcher Charlie Sheen played in "Major League."
Nordin explained after the Florida game that he related to "the closer" role "Wild Thing" filled in that fictional baseball movie.
There's plenty of substance to go with his flash, though.
Check him out on Twitter @QuinnNordin and survey the four words he lists to illustrate what's most important to him in life: "Faith. Family. Fishing. Football."
I asked him about all four.
On faith: "I've had a couple coaches along the way really show me the way of God and how having that faith and love in Jesus really allows you to experience something outside of sports. You know you're not out there by yourself. You're obviously out there with your teammates, but you're also out there with God, and you can't do anything without him.
"I pray before the game, and I pray right after the game, and I'm just thanking Him."
Nordin's favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."
On family, which includes parents Heidi and Bruce and older sister Gabrielle: "I have a big family here in this football locker room, but I have a gigantic family and can't even tell you how many cousins I have. Today, I had 13 or 14 people at the game, and it's just great to see my family and give them love. One of the reasons I came to Michigan is to be close to them."
On fishing: "Largemouth (bass) and pike are my favorite things in the world. Out by my house, there are a whole bunch of lakes. I've gone to the Huron River here a couple times and caught a nice pike off the dam back in the summer. It's a pass-the-time thing that clears my head and gets me relaxed. It's something fun."
On football: "Football is obviously not the most important of those things, but Coach (Harbaugh) preaches those values on us and we have to come out and work. But I love football."
Lacrosse was where he first attracted college recruiters, though, and he was something of a prodigy in that sport.
"I committed to the Air Force Academy in the eighth grade to play lacrosse," said Nordin. "But football started going good in high school, and I told the coach at Air Force during my freshman year that I wanted to play football in college."
Ironically, he tied that school single-season mark against the Falcons.
Nordin (3) and Moores (15) celebrate with the field goal unit's linemen
Michigan had to beat out Southern Cal and Penn State for his services. Harbaugh went to great lengths to get Nordin coming down the stretch, going so far as to pull a sleepover at the Nordin home that brought massive publicity.
"Coach came over my house with his hat on and his toothbrush," said Nordin. "He brought a good attitude and is a great man."
The precision that Nordin has developed with long-snapper Camaron Cheeseman and senior holder Garrett Moores is something to admire.
"It's really nice to have Garrett in there," said Nordin. "I couldn't do anything that I'm doing without Garrett. He's a perfectionist. If the ball needs to be tilted forward to the right, he's going to have it be tilted exactly forward and exactly to the right. It's perfect.
"But I also have a very special snapper. Camaron Cheeseman is a redshirt freshman who is doing an unbelievable job. He's gigantic -- 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds -- and for a freshman snapper to be that big he has big-time upside."
Nordin said he warms up on the sideline "once we pass the 50" and stresses that he's always rooting for the offense to score a touchdown. But when called, he can't wait. That's where he's wired like a baseball closer to finish the drive with points.
"I say it's greedy," said Nordin, "but I love kicking field goals, no doubt."
Once on the field with the unit, he awaits a starting signal from Moores and then "takes a deep breath" before "taking three steps back and two over" to get set for his kicking approach.
"I couldn't do this without the holder, snapper and my line," Nordin said. "They've been doing an incredible job all year, and it feels like we're best friends out on the field. All I have to do is kick. I don't have to worry about the snap, the hold, the block. Everybody's going to do their job.
"Before I go out on the field, I just say, 'Do your job! I've got this.' Everybody's doing their job to perfection, and I'm just trying to follow suit."
