Given the amount of time we’ve spent discussing them this week, you might think that the Jets spent all of their time figuring our who will play quarterback for them from week to week.
That’s not the case, however. They also spend time watching YouTube videos in search of kicking prospects.
Well, at least one YouTube video of a kicking prospect anyway. Reuters, via the New York Post, reports that the Jets worked out Havard Rugland this week after watching a video the Norwegian made of his kicking prowess. The video features Rugland making 60-yard field goals in addition to a series of trick kicks that are entertaining to watch if not particularly applicable to life as an NFL kicker.
“It went well,” Rugland told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. “They tested me on field goals and kickoffs. Obviously you feel a little more pressure here, but I stayed pretty calm.”
Rugland is 27 and has no prior football experience, but he has been working with former NFL kicker Michael Husted in the U.S. to prepare for tryouts with interested teams. The list of Norwegian kickers in the NFL is short but illustrious. Jan Stenerud was born in Norway and is one of only three kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.