One of the nation’s best college kickers went to Naperville North
In August, Texas A&M senior David Olano was among 35 players named to the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Preseason Watch List, recognizing the top kickers in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
A 2023 Naperville North High School graduate, Olano has done nothing to hurt his chances of winning the award.
Through 10 games Olano has successfully converted 16 of 17 field goal attempts, with a long boot of 57 yards in a 34-7 win over Arkansas on Oct. 3 to earn Southeastern Conference special teams player of the week honors. Olano kicked 53-yard field goals in losses to LSU and Missouri.
A perfect 27 of 27 on extra points, Olano also had sent 33 of 38 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, averaging 64 yards a kickoff.
Added to Sports Illustrated (first team) and Associated Press (second team) midseason All-America teams, the soccer convert is much more interested in what he’s doing on the field than in what media prognosticators say.
“Obviously it’s awesome, it’s cool to be put on that (Lou Groza) list with other guys that are super high-caliber players, but realistically I don’t really think about it too much, don’t care too much about it. What matters to me is what I do in the season,” Olano said.
Citing prior relationships with Aggies special teams coach Patrick Dougherty and punter Tyler White, Olano transferred to Texas A&M after earning three letters at the University of Illinois.
The Illini kickoff specialist as a freshman, as a sophomore and junior, Olano went 37 of 43 on field goals and 82 of 83 on extra points.
He tied a program record last season with five field goals against Purdue, and kicked the game-winning 29-yard field goal as time expired in Illinois’ 30-28 win over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl in Nashville.
“It’s a relieving feeling,” Olano said of that kick. “Anytime you get to hit a game-winner it’s the best feeling in the world. Those are the moments that I always want and always dream of, so whenever I get to do it, it feels amazing.”
Previously a soccer player like his brother, Pablo, who played soccer at the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina, David Olano switched sports before his junior year at Naperville North.
“All my buddies played football,” he said, “so I ended up just joining the team, and one thing led to another. They needed a kicker, and with my soccer background I started whacking the ball around.”
Smart decision. Olano gained local and national attention, recognized by the DuPage Valley Conference, in kicking camps and in the media.
“Football has been what I’ve dreamed of, and more,” Olano said. “And school’s been really good, too, I’ve been able to stay on track to graduate from here, so that’s awesome. I’m just enjoying it, it’s been a really fun year.”
Majoring in agricultural leadership at Texas A&M, with a background in sports management at Illinois, Olano hopes to latch on with an NFL team next year. If not, he said he’d return for another season in College Station.
Like the accolades he’s gained this season, Olano doesn’t overthink it when he has a kick with the game on the line.
“Honestly, it really doesn’t feel anything different than any other kick, at the end of the day,” Olano said. “Obviously the situation means more, but the kick is the same, the ball is the same, the uprights are the same. Just trying to make the moment.”
Another kicker
Air Force sophomore kicker Carter Cremascoli (Prospect) also is having a fine year.
Including the Falcons’ 24-3 victory Saturday over San Jose State, Cremascoli had converted 11 of 12 field-goal attempts with a long of 52 yards in Air Force’s opener against Duquesne. He’d made 31 of 32 extra-point kicks, and on 53 kickoffs this season Cremascoli produced 51 touchbacks.
Redbird rookie
Illinois State freshman guard Danyella Mporokoso (Waubonsie Valley) is off to a good with the women’s basketball team.
The 2025-26 Gatorade Illinois girls player of the year and Waubonsie’s all-time scoring leader, the 5-foot-7 guard was averaging 12.2 points, third on the team through five games, with four rebounds and two assists a game. Also third in minutes played, Mporokoso had her first 20-point game Nov. 11 in a 75-66 win over Green Bay.
doberhelman@dailyherald.com