Saluki kicker Seth Adams has shown leg strength from 50+
- Tom Weber
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
CARBONDALE, Ill. — When Seth Adams’ foot meets the ball on a field goal attempt during practice, a powerful thud reverberates throughout Saluki Stadium.
A transfer from Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, Adams sat out during spring ball at Southern Illinois due to a back injury, but he was easily clearing 50-yarders during training camp.
How he ended up battling for the starting kick job at SIU is a fascinating story.
At La Salle-Peru High School in Utica, Illinois, Adams played wide receiver and defensive back, in addition to kicking. Wisconsin-Whitewater brought him in just to kick, but he ended up being the team’s holder as a freshman in 2024.
“I was using a two-inch tee in high school, and obviously switched to the ground in college,” he explained. “It's much harder. So that first year was my learning curve.”
During the summer of 2025, Adams trained in Alabama with well-known kicking guru Ty Long. That marked a major breakthrough in his kicking career.
“He’s been the biggest difference in my career by far,” Adams said. “I started getting consistent power and my accuracy got a ton better.”
Adams won the place-kicking job at Whitewater in 2025, and had a solid season by making 12-of-15 field goal attempts. His performance was far more impressive once you find out the circumstances he battled through.
“I got my butt kicked last year,” he declared. “I played Week Three with mono. There was one chip shot that I missed because I was literally cramping. They eventually put our backup in when I could barely move.”
Adams woke up the next morning with so much back pain that he could barely get out of bed.
“My back was killing me,” he said. “I played the next two weeks, but I could barely bend over or walk.”
An MRI determined that Adams had a stress fracture in his back. He’s not sure if it was caused by kicking with mono or simply from overwork.
“I was just kicking all year round,” he recalled. “I had kicked for 12 months straight, and I didn't take a break at all, and that definitely took a toll on my body.”
Amazingly, Adams missed only three weeks and returned to kick the final two games of the season, despite the stress fracture.
After the season ended, Adams entered the transfer portal. He explained the injury to prospective teams and said he was only able to do “light swinging,” but was mapping a return to full kicking by training camp.
“I'm thinking if I can just get an offer in-state, that would be an ideal situation,” he recalled. “I talked to some low FBS teams, some FCS schools that were on and off with me, but then I talked to Coach (Nathan) Frame and he got me on a visit to SIU pretty quick.”
Adams said he’s gained almost 10 pounds during the off-season and added five yards of distance to his kicks. He’s also capable of handling all three kicking roles, just like his predecessor, Paul Geelen.
“Whatever they ask me, I'll do what needs to be done for the team,” he said. “I’m pretty raw as a punter, but I didn't start traditionally punting until the summer I went and saw Ty. In high school, we did mostly rugby punts.”
If Adams wins the kicking job, how will he feel about kicking in front of large crowds? Southern plays at Illinois’ 60,000-seat Memorial Stadium in Week 4.
“Football fields are always the same length,” he said. “We played a home game last season with more than 20,000 people, and I loved that environment. I think the worst environment is less people where you can hear every single word that's being said.”
In that sold-out game against UW-La Crosse, Adams booted a game-tying, 37-yard field goal in overtime. He’d love the opportunity to kick a game-winner at SIU some day.
“It’s really just having confidence in your preparation, regardless of what happens before the first kick,” he said. “I had a kick last year when, before the kick, I probably hit the worst ball I've ever had into the net. I'm still confident in myself because I know the preparation and what I'm capable of doing when I go on the field.”
Kickers sometimes get a bad rap about not being great athletes, but that’s not true of Adams. He was all-conference in baseball, basketball, soccer and football in high school.
“I’m an athlete,” he said. “I’m not just a kicker.”
More about the Saluki Specialists
Head coach Nick Hill has not announced the starters at any of the three kicking positions, and it’s possible that three different players could handle the roles when the Salukis open the season at West Florida.
Seth Adams (6-1, 185, Jr.) has demonstrated the strongest leg of the group.
“Seth has shown the ability to do all three,” said special teams coach Nathan Frame. “He’s a super-talented kid with a strong leg. It’s more so about consistency with him.”
One of the bigger surprises of camp has been the performance of Jefferson City, Missouri native Weston Schofield (5-8, 159, Fr.).
“Weston is the most polished freshman we've ever had here,” Frame noted. “The ball comes off his foot different. He has the ability to do all three and has been very consistent.”
The player with the most collegiate punting experience under his belt is Elijah Gorman (5-11, 205, Sr.), who kicked at both Lake Erie College and Alcorn State.
“He’s been a Division I punter before, so we know he can do it,” Frame said. “Leg strength is not in question. He just has to be more consistent with the adjusted hang time, but he's very in-tune with his swing.”
Tanner Trachsel (6-3, 205, So.) was the No. 1 kicker during spring ball and has been consistent throughout camp.
“He's kicked more accurately, his leg strength has improved, his operation times have been going down on field goal,” Frame said. “He's still competing for both field goal and kickoffs.”
The Salukis return one of the most reliable long snappers in the FCS in Ryan Algrim (6-2, 231, Sr.).
“Ryan is having his most consistent camp,” Frame said. “His velocity has improved, his accuracy improved. We can do multiple things schematically with him in our punt unit because of what he can do. He's a leader of the room and a super-talented.”
Jace Clark (6-1, 208, Sr.) returns as the team’s holder and is also the backup snapper.
“Jace has owned his role,” Frame said. “He’s a great holder. He's owned it. He works at it. The kickers trust him. Ryan trusts him, and he's also improved as our backup long snapper.”
There have been a couple of significant announcements in the last 24 hours that affect Saluki Football.
First, Western Kentucky announced yesterday that it will host the Salukis to open the 2027 season. That means Southern will have non-conference road games at WKU, SEMO and Wisconsin, with only one non-conference home game against West Florida.
Second, the NCAA won a ruling that overturns, at least temporarily, the eligibility of the 2022 student-athletes who were briefly declared eligible by a judge three weeks ago. This new ruling affects SIU wideout Tae Marrero Jr.
My thoughts on both topics …
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