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 'So lucky' Colorado's Hnida relishes being part of the team
Posted: Thursday September 30, 1999 10:35 AM
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- The transition from high school homecoming queen to collegiate placekicker has not been easy for Colorado freshman Katie Hnida. Fifth on the team's depth chart, the 18-year-old Hnida gets about three minutes a day to practice field goals and extra points against a live defense. The results have been mixed as she adjusts to kicking directly off the grass as opposed to a tee. When game day comes, Hnida's teammates change in the men's locker room while she is relegated to putting on her pads in an equipment room in the tunnels beneath Folsom Field. Despite the drawbacks, Hnida relishes every minute. "For so long, I've wanted to be a Buff and I've wanted to come to the University of Colorado," said Hnida, who on Sept. 18 became the first woman to suit up for an NCAA Division I football game. "So many people don't get this opportunity. I'm so lucky that I've been able to come up here and do this." Hnida (pronounced NYE'-duh) gained national attention last year when Sports Illustrated ran a short feature about her dual status as a homecoming queen and placekicker at Chatfield High School in suburban Denver. Former Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel invited Hnida to try out for the team last spring and current coach Gary Barnett honored the invitation when Neuheisel left for Washington. Hnida wasn't exactly welcomed with open shoulder pads. "Initially, the team took it as a joke as most guys do," senior placekicker Jeremy Aldrich said Wednesday. "After a while, they've adjusted. They're hoping she can show everybody that it's not a waste of their time and everybody's time that she's up here." Barnett had reservations about Hnida because he had to turn away about 100 ambitious walk-on kickers. NCAA rules limit the number of players who can participate in spring camp. "I think there was a lot of ambivalence by the kids to have Katie walk on," Barnett said. "I don't think they were fired up about it. They didn't complain to me, but I don't think the talk around the locker room was, 'Wow! It's going to be great!' They didn't know how it was going to work. "In the long run, it's been good for all of us, to an extent." To prevent Hnida from feeling added pressure, Barnett and the school kept her out of the media's spotlight as she kicked her way onto the team. "I didn't want it to be a media circus and to distract the team," Hnida said. "It can get a little bit out of hand." Hnida said she feels accepted by her teammates and doesn't make any apologies for her unique chance. She said she wants to prove she belongs on a Division I team -- even if it means performing in a limited role. "I'd like to be the first woman to kick and score points in a Division I football game," she said. "What I'm going to want to do, probably, is the extra-point, short field goal job. Physically, I probably never will be as strong as some of the guys." Hnida's longest field goal in high school was 39 yards and she has converted from about 35 yards against a charging defense in practice. In addition to adding leg strength, Hnida also wants to add muscle in case she is ever faced with making a tackle. "I've wanted to put on weight for quite sometime," she said. "I'm a football player, not a 130-pound supermodel. I want to be stronger. Just in case I ever got hit, I want to be able to take it." Because there are four other kickers ahead of her, Hnida will not get a chance to kick in a game this season. She also will face another tryout next spring that could determine whether she remains on the team. "This is not a thing she's doing for attention or a publicity stunt. She's serious," said Colorado assistant coach John Embree. "She's very intent on kicking field goals for the Buffaloes."
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