In an effort to bolster its special teams, the McNeese football team added Butler Community College kicker Jacob Abel, who recently signed with the Cowboys to try and compete for the starting kicking position.

Abel conducted a phone interview with the American Press to discuss why he chose McNeese, the recruiting process during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, and being able to train right now.

David Berry: How did you and McNeese get in contact and how did you decide to sign with the Cowboys?

Jacob Abel: I spend a lot of time just following and (direct messaging) coaches on Twitter my film and stuff like that. Actually, I used to DM (new McNeese special teams coordinator) coach Gary Hyman back when he was at UTSA before he came over. And then he went over to McNeese and he finally responded to my film and stuff and said he liked it, and it kind of went from there. Just talking back and forth a lot, sending updated film and stuff like that. And then offering later on, that’s how that happened.

DB: McNeese is looking for a kicker to replace Bailey Raborn so he can focus more on his punting. How exciting is the opportunity to come in and compete for a starting position right away?

JA: I like that a lot. Obviously not everything is handed to you, no starting spot is just handed to you. So I have to go in and earn it, but it’s definitely an appeal.

DB: You were both a kicker and punter last season at Butler Community College. What are your plans for when you come to McNeese? And would you like potentially taking the punting off your plate to focus on kicking?

JA: I’ll just do kickoffs and field goals, no more punting. I just picked up punting this last year, it was an extra thing to do for more film. It was my first year doing it, I’m not crazy good at it or anything. It’ll be nice to kind of rest, and I like doing field goals and kickoffs a little bit better.

DB: What other schools did you consider during the recruiting process?

JA: Austin Peay offered me right after McNeese did. And Stephen F. Austin, I talked to them a little bit. There’s some bigger schools that I talked to about (being a) walk-on, but no scholarship stuff. But really, the only other school that officially offered was that was a Division I was Austin Peay.

DB: With the coronavirus restricting official visits and recruiting in general, how frustrating has it been for you, and how have you been able to adjust to a world of digital recruiting?

JA: It definitely is kind of frustrating that I haven’t gotten to go on a visit or anything, because I definitely want to see the campus and meet in person with (head coach Frank) Wilson, coach Hyman, and the rest of the coaches. I guess it’s kind of nice with the technology we have nowadays, I got to go on McNeese’s website and there’s plenty of pictures of the stadium and you can take virtual tours and stuff like that. I looked up the facilities on YouTube. I guess I’m not going to see it in person, which kind of sucks, but you still get to see a little bit of what you’re getting into. But obviously the in-person aspect, it kind of sucks that we don’t get to have that.

DB: When it comes to working out and kicking, how are you able to do that at the moment?

JA: My high school field is just about two miles from my house and it’s been open. So I just walk in the gates there and go work whenever I want to. So I’ve been able to do a lot of that on my own time. That hasn’t been an issue for me really.

DB: You’re from Kansas and went to junior college in Kansas. McNeese will be your first time living out of state. What are you looking forward to and what will you miss most leaving home?

JA: I’m just excited for the new experience. We had more people on my team (at Butler CC) from Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia than we did from Kansas. Everybody’s always talking about how the south is better, so I’m kind of excited to experience it and see what they’re talking about.

In college, I was only 45 minutes from home, so I’ll miss getting to see the family about every weekend. But I’m excited to meet a lot of new friends, and get new experiences. And the warm weather.McNeese bucking logo