Hartgroves getting his kicks
By TIM SCHNETTLER
Eagle Staff Writer
One glance at the senior and figuring out his position is fairly easy.
He looks the part of a kicker, and he doesn’t hesitate to let you know that is what he does.
“It is what I do,” Hartgroves said of his kicking. “Obviously I am not a lineman or linebacker’s size.”
He also isn’t afraid to let opposing players know that if needed, he can ditch the kicker persona for that of a linebacker.
“I am not one to really want to lay a hit, but I will if I have to,” he said. “I wouldn’t think twice about it.”
So far this season the only thing Hartgroves has had to light up is a football, and he has been doing it well.
He started the season with a flourish, nailing a game-winning 35-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Vikings past Cypress Falls in their opener.
The kick may have won the game for the Vikings, but for Hartgroves it was more. After missing an earlier field goal, Hartgroves was anxiously awaiting his shot at redemption.
“That’s what it is all about,” he said. “The second you know you missed it, you want to do it again. You want to stay right out there, and you want a redo. Fortunately I got it.”
Which, according to assistant coach C.M. Pier who works with Hartgroves on field goals and kickoffs, says a lot about Hartgroves’ mental makeup.
“Kicker, just like any other position, has to be a kid of great character and a real fighter willing to step up there under that kind of pressure and do that, “Pier said. “That showed a lot about him going back into that type of pressure situation and nailing it.”
Hartgroves handles all aspects of the Vikings’ kicking game, from field goals to punts to kickoffs, he does them all and does them well.
He only has had three opportunities to kick field goals, all in the first game, and connected on two. He is perfect on extra points, making all six. He has punted nine times this season, averaging 36.4 yards.
“He is a very intelligent young man,” said assistant coach Alan Fritsche, who works with Hartgroves on punts. “He is a technician of the kicking game. He works at it very hard and works at it year round.
Hartgroves’ hard work and dedication aren’t limited to the football field. He approaches the classroom with a similar attitude and has achieved success there as well.
He is ranked 15th out of 685 seniors at Bryan High, placing him in the top 2 percent. He has a grade-point average of 4.41, has completed nine hours of college credit with a 4.0 and is taking three more hours this fall.
He has already scored a 1,320 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, getting a 710 on the math portion and a 610 on the verbal. He wants to study engineering in college.
Though he has not received any scholarship offers to play football, Hartgroves has been asked to walk on by a couple of schools. He is open to that option, but it has to be the right situation.
“If it is a school that I would choose academically, then I would,” he said. “I wouldn’t just choose a random school.”
NOTES — Jacob is the son of Thomas and Kay Hartgroves and he has one brother, Justin, who is 13 years old. Justin is a quarterback for the Rayburn Raiders. “That’s one thing I can’t do, throw the ball,” Jacob said. “I roll it back.” … Jacob’s grandfather is Dr. H.C. McQuaide, who served as the team physician for Texas A&M from 1958-81. McQuaide moved to Bryan in 1956 and opened his general surgery practice … Hartgroves spent the summer making the rounds of the collegiate kicking camps going to Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Alabama, Northwestern, the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois and the University of Houston … For his three-year varsity career, Hartgroves is 11 of 15 on field goals, 33 of 34 on PATs and is averaging just over 35 yards per punt … Hartgroves used to throw the javelin and won a silver medal at the Junior Olympics in Orlando in the 13- to 14-year-old division. “Not too many parents will take you around the country to further your athletics,” he said. “I’ve been to Cleveland, Charlotte, Orlando and Virginia Beach.” … Hartgroves suffered a knee injury while playing soccer and had to have surgery which has slowed him some. “Watching him, he’s still not quite 100 percent,” Pier said. “He is very close, but not quite. That has hampered him a little bit. He is a little behind schedule, but he is getting stronger.”
