USC still searching for kicker to replace Heidari

Published Apr. 10, 2015 1:50 a.m. ET

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Alex Wood and Matt Boermeester have a lot of ground to cover between now and USC's season opener.

Wood and Boermeester are candidates to replace the graduated Andre Heidari in the Trojans kicking competition.

Though, neither player is close to winning the job.

"We got a long way to go," USC head coach Steve Sarkisian said.

The two are short on experience. Wood, a redshirt junior, has connected on all 20 of his point-after attempts as a Trojan, including going 12 for 12 last season, but he's yet to attempt a field goal in a game. He also served as the team's kickoff specialist last season.

Boermeester has only been kicking for one season. The redshirt sophomore never kicked in high school before he decided to give it a try at Saddleback College as a freshman in 2013. He made 11-of-13 field goals with a long of 43 yards. He also made 43-of-48 point-after attempts. He redshirted last season after transferring to USC. 

Kicking is in his blood. His dad, Peter, was an All-Pac-10 kicker at UCLA in the late 70s.

Boermeester, like many others at his position, has been tutored by Chris Sailer. A family friend introduced him to former Chargers kicker John Carney, who's tutored him as well.

Carney, Boermeester says, has emphasized "a lot of the little things that people don't think about."

One of the things he's adopted from Carney is the process of shaving parts of the bottom of his cleats.

"I shaved it all off so that I don't catch ground," Boermeester said. "I don't really catch grass (with my cleats) but it's more of (the) turf that I make sure I don't catch."

Wood along with Boermeester and his shaved cleats will be on display, kicking field goals, during Saturday's Spring Game at the Coliseum. However, it's unlikely the Trojans will be any closer to naming a starter.

"We got work to do," Sarkisian said. "We're not making any hard and fast decisions right now."

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