Ain't that a kick in a pro career?

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, May 1, 2008 | by Jonathan Okanes

Once former Cal kicker Tom Schneider determined it was in his best interest to play college football for one more season, he had to find a school that met the desired criteria.

Playing in a town that had a Best Buy and a Target were simply a bonus.

Schneider, who missed his senior season at Cal because of a torn quadriceps muscle, said he is transferring to North Alabama. Schneider has exhausted his Division I eligibility but has one semester left to play at a Division II school.

North Alabama is in Florence, Ala. (population approx. 37,000). After having an appeal for a sixth year of eligibility denied by the NCAA earlier this month, Schneider started looking for a Division II school where he could play one more season to prove to NFL scouts he was healthy.

North Alabama fit Schneider's wish list -- a winning program in a warm-weather area that was in need of a kicker. He took a recruiting trip a couple of weeks ago and decided it was the place for him.

"I was expecting this bumbling town, but I was really impressed," Schneider said. "They have regular stores, like Best Buy and Target. The Southern hospitality is real. They were all very friendly there."

Schneider entered last season on the Lou Groza watch list as one of the best kickers in the country. But while he was warming up on the field before the Bears' season opener against Tennessee, he tore the quadriceps muscle where it meets the hip flexor. His season was over.

Schneider already had used his redshirt season, and he knew the chances of the NCAA granting him an extra year was a longshot. Division I rules dictate that a player has 10 consecutive semesters to play four seasons, while Division II schools allow athletes to play four seasons in 10 semesters, but the semesters don't have to be continuous.

Schneider, who already has earned his legal studies degree from Cal, isn't taking classes this spring, so he has one semester remaining.

"It's important for me, if I want to go and play professionally, to have one more good healthy year of college just to prove my leg is still healthy," Schneider said.

Schneider considered attempting to make an NFL roster this fall, but after soliciting advice from experts such as kicking coach Doug Brien, the former Cal and NFL kicker, he decided he needed another year to prove himself.

"I need to prove that I am healthy," Schneider said.

Schneider won't be displaying his talents at a program that is as high-profile as Cal, but North Alabama is one of the better Division II teams in the country. The Lions have gone to three of the past four Division II playoffs and have won three national championships in their history.