Following a few years of filling in at an assortment of spots on Northern Arizona's special teams,
Luis Aguilar settled into his role for the Lumberjacks in 2019.
Opening the year a perfect 25-of-25 on field goals and extra points, Aguilar's early season performance coincided with the first sense of stability the junior has felt during his four years in the program.
"I didn't know who I was, I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing here," Aguilar said. "Punting wasn't working out the way I wanted it to work out, so kicking just opened up a new path. I am a kicker now, so now I have got to embrace that role."
Aguilar called his naming as Northern Arizona's starting placekicker a "blessing," but acknowledged there's still much more ahead and he approaches every kick just looking to go "1 for 1."
Thrust into the kicking role early on in the 2018 season following the departure of Northern Arizona's former starter, Aguilar finished the season 4 of 8 on field goals and 23 of 24 on extra points. After holding for kicks to start the year, and occasionally punting and kicking off in addition to placekicking, Aguilar's 2018 season mirrored the first few years of his collegiate career.
After redshirting in 2016, Aguilar spent 2017 splitting punting duties with
DJ Arnson, as well as holding on kicks throughout the season. All this came after the Nogales native finished his two-year high school career with the Apaches doing it all: punting, placekicking and handling kickoffs.
"It was hard to find a role on the team, I just wanted to be productive and help this team in any way possible," Aguilar said. "When I was punting, I was trying to be the best punter I could be. Battling DJ, it was good competition. But it was just trying to find my rhythm, trying to find out who I was, why I am here. I knew I could kick all along. Since freshman year, I knew I could kick."
It took years with the Lumberjacks for Aguilar to kick in a game. With a about two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Aguilar scored Northern Arizona's final point in its 30-10 upset at UTEP to open the 2018 season. It would be two more weeks before he attempted another kick, as he took on the team's starting role against Southern Utah.
RESETTING A MINDSET
Aguilar's duties were not the only thing constantly in flux from year to year. Northern Arizona's special teams coach changed each of the past five years since the junior kicker signed his letter of intent in February 2016.
Originally recruited by David Reeves, Aguilar then played for Jeff Copp, Gary Hyman and Bruce Reed before
Aaron Price took over the group when head coach
Chris Ball arrived this past winter.
With a few kickers on Northern Arizona's roster during fall camp, Aguilar needed to grab hold of the job kicking job again with Price now making the call.
"I have been around it my whole life, so I wanted to make my own opinion and decisions on it," Price said, who kicked at Washington State during his playing career. "I knew that he was here as a punter, and he didn't really get the reps to kick. He just needed to practice a little bit. He's got a great leg, he's got great height on the ball and he's got great accuracy, so he's a phenomenal, phenomenal weapon."
With the rough road to the starting kicker job including few reps in practice as the backup and some in-game struggles while punting and placekicking, 2019 provided Aguilar with a fresh start. Aguilar missed a trio of field goals between 35 and 38 yards, as well as an extra point during 2018, and Price said some of his work this offseason included resetting the mental aspect of the game.
"There's a lot of self talk that we work on... It's a mental game," Price said. "Golf and kicking are really similar. I had a college roommate when I was kicking at Washington State, my roommate was a golfer and so we had a lot of things that we shared between each other about the mental aspects of the game. That's a big part of it because it's the easiest job on the football team until fourth down, and now it becomes the hardest. So you have to be ready to go, you only get one shot."
The confidence the Lumberjacks have in Aguilar showed immediately this season.
Aguilar's first kick during the season opener against Missouri State in the Skydome came from 48 yards out and split the uprights in the game's first quarter. Another field goal from 21 yards and a pair of extra points followed in the second quarter.
"After that first field goal, I was like this is my year. I have got to make the most of it every time I go out there. I am always thinking about the team, always thinking about putting points up on the board," Aguilar said. "It was definitely a confidence booster."
Price stressed just how critical getting consistent kicking reps is in order to be successful, in addition to having someone available to watch and critique each day in practice. Additionally, Price circled back to the importance of a coach who understands the mental aspect of a kicker.
"Being one myself and knowing that is key. We are different. We love to compete, we are really good athletes, but the mentality is different," Price said. "So with the mindset is a little different than maybe yelling at a linebacker or a running back. You can't force anybody to make a kick by yelling at them, that's not going to happen."
The early results on the field proved the process worked so far. Before a pair of misses from 51 and 52 yards on the road at Illinois State, Aguilar started the season with eight straight made field goals to tie the best start by a Northern Arizona kicker since at least 2010.
Through six games, Aguilar is 11 of 13 on field goals and 27 of 27 on extra points, ranking him inside the top 10 in points scored in the FCS. Against Northern Colorado, Aguilar connected on a carer long 57-yard field goal, the longest kick for Northern Arizona since at least 2000, leading to Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors for special teams.
The emphasis placed on special teams by Ball, Price and the rest of the new coaching staff led Aguilar and the rest of the unit to feel they were better prepared for pressure-packed situations.
"They put me in high pressure situations during practice, that really helped a lot as far as kicking under pressure and kicking in any environment," Aguilar said. "Every time I go out there, it's the same kick. No matter if it's in practice, if it's warming up or if it's in a game."
ALL ASPECTS
Aguilar's success isn't limited to just placekicking, as he sits second in the nation with 31 touchbacks on 42 kickoffs in six games. Just two of 24 kickoffs in the Skydome failed to end up in the end zone, both a result of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties following touchdowns.
Moments such as the opening kickoff at Arizona in the second week of the season are the ones that Aguilar said stand out, with the chance to pull the crowd into the game, especially one touchback kicks following a score by the Lumberjacks.
"It's huge, it's unbelievable how you can take a section of the game out and not even give anybody a chance," Price said of Aguilar's success on kickoffs. "He's No. 2 in the nation right now in kickoffs, which is a testament to his hard work and his ability really."
Additionally, Aguilar credited the relationship he, Arnson and long snapper
Justin Hathoot with the success the group has had so far. With Arnson now holding for kicks after previously battling Aguilar for the punting job, all three are currently in their junior years allowing the group to continue improving.
"We go eat together, we do a lot of things outside of football together. We just became really good friends," Aguilar said. "When we can bring that onto the field, it's just this special play. We have got each others back, no matter the outcome and no matter the kick. That's how I feel about the rest of my team. Everytime I go out on the field, I know my team has got my back... There's definitely a lot of trust and just that natural bond that every time you go out there."
