Meet Rocklin’s Cole Becker, the top kicker in the nation who’s heading to Colorado
In 2017, Cole Becker only played soccer.
He was a freshman at Rocklin High School then, lured into kicking footballs for a change of pace by family friend Mike Black, a one-time kicker at Boise State and the Arena Football League. Becker learned quickly and rapidly built an interest in continuing to kick in college.
Becker’s college football dreams will come true and his education will be paid for with a scholarship package at Colorado of the Pac-12 Conference. A senior, Becker was one of 13 athletes from the Sacramento area to sign an early national letter of intent on Wednesday.
It’s hard enough to land a scholarship at the FCS or FBS level, and even more difficult for incoming freshmen.
“I played soccer until I was in eighth grade,” Becker said. “So I didn’t even touch a football really until high school. I decided (after that) I wanted to play football and be a kicker.”
Becker was a Bee All-Metro performer as a junior and was on The Bee’s preseason watchlist. He has been deemed by some recruiting services as the best kicker in the country.
“Yes, it has become rare (for kickers to get scholarships) just because they are not prepared coming out of high school to be competitive,” Becker’s kicking coach Paul Assad said. “I’m excited for Cole. I thought he could be a Division I player since the first time I saw him. I really see no limitations on what his future could be.”
Becker gave a verbal commitment to Iowa State in October, but a family trip to Boulder, home of the Colorado Buffaloes, changed his mind. That happened last week.
“I really like the program and what they’re starting up over there,” said Becker, who plans to study business. “With Boulder positioned so close to Denver, there’s a lot of opportunity for business, which is what I’m thinking I want to study in college. I’m not sure exactly what in business yet but my goal is to go down that path.”
Becker’s rise to stardom began with a standout junior season at Rocklin. He made 14 of 15 field goals and all 31 of his extra points. His holder in 2019 was older brother Mason, now a freshman at Boise State. During the offseason, Becker attended multiple kicking camps and quickly worked his way to become the top-rated kicker in the land, according to Kohl’s Kicking. Becker was selected for the Under Armour All-American game which would’ve taken place in Florida next month. The coronavirus pandemic led to that cancellation.
After college, Becker hopes to kick in the NFL. His idol is Baltimore Ravens’ kicker Justin Tucker, who is the most accurate placekicker in NFL history.
“The dream is the NFL,” Becker said. “I know sometimes that doesn’t work out and I’m still going to try and push for that goal, but that’s why it’s super important for me along with the football aspect of the school to get the education, too.”
Around the regions
In all, 14 regional student-athletes signed on Wednesday, most done from the comfort of home with so many schools closed or in hybrid mode due to the pandemic.
The fastest recruit to sign was Monterey Trail cornerback Prophet Brown, who is headed to USC. The tallest to sign was the 6-foot-7, Sawyer Hays of Christian Brothers with Sacrament State to play tackle. The Hornets also landed lineman Ilaisa Gonebure, who played at Capital Christian his first three seasons and will graduate from Rocklin in the spring.
The Bee’s 2019 Player of the Year - Justin Lamson of Oak Ridge - signed with Syracuse, an on-campus signing that included his parents. The quarterback follows in the footsteps of other Trojan star quarterbacks who have moved on, including Ian Book, now the winningest quarterback in Notre Dame history. He is a senior.
Folsom has also sent quarterbacks onto the next level, including Jake Browning, the winningest quarterback in Pac-12 history, now with the Minnesota Vikings. On Wednesday, Ari Patu signed with Stanford.
Cal landed three area products: Folsom cornerback Kalen Higgins., Jesuit tight end/linebacker Keleki Latu and Cosumnes Oaks linebacker Moses Oladejo. Nate Lewis of Jesuit signed with San Jose State to play tight end. Vacaville tight end Michael Otterstedt signed with Cal Poly. Also headed to Cal Poly is River City’s powerhouse 340-pound defensive lineman Josh Ngaluafe.
In the oddity that is 2020, safety Mike Chavez signed with Morehead State while in Folsom colors though he has not played a down for the Bulldogs. He is a transfer from St. Mary’s High in Stockton. If Folsom has a spring season, Chavez will play.
And the one player who got in a fall season signed with Navy. That is fullback Takeshi Faupula, who played in Utah to get a season in, living with extended family, and will graduate with his Yuba City class.
Who’s going where
Cole Becker, K, Rocklin, Colorado
Prophet Brown, DB, Monterey Trail, USC
Mike Chavez, DB, St. Mary’s/Folsom, Morehead State
Sawyer Hays, OL, Christian Brothers, Sac State
Kaleb Higgins, DB, Folsom, Cal
Takeshi Faupula, FB, Yuba City, Navy
Ilaisa Gonebure, OL/DL, Capital Christian/Rocklin, San Diego State
Justin Lamson, QB, Oak Ridge, Syracuse
Keleki Latu, TE/LB, Jesuit, Cal
Nate Lewis, Jesuit, TE, San Jose State
Josh Ngaluafe, River City, DL, Cal Poly
Moses Oladejo, LB, Cosumnes Oaks, Cal
Michael Otterstedt, TE, Vacaville, Cal Poly
Ari Patu, QB, Folsom, Stanford
Kenndel Riley, DL, Capital Christian, Sac State
Who’d we miss?
Send names of those signing full-ride football scholarship packages to FBS or FCS schools to jdavidson@sacbee.com
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 8:21 AM.