No Finn has played in the NFL. Eemil Herras has a plan with which he intends to get into the brightest lights of all.
All are replaceable.
That’s the reality of chasing a dream in the United States Eemil Herranen21, living.
The goal of Herranen, who plays American football at the place of a kicker, is the NFL, which in Finland can be called a fairy-tale. No Finn has played in the series yet.
Mr. Herranen’s goal is not flattery. However, it requires work, and Herranen’s own coach has reminded the players that there are always other talented and willing people and no one is irreplaceable.
– Everyone does extra after training, stays to stretch and stuff like that. Need to do even more. The bare minimum is not enough, Herranen says.
A million bucks
Herranen studies and plays at Northern Arizona University, whose team, the Lumberjacks, plays in the FCS, the second highest league level in American football.
“Giant schools” like Oregon and Alabama play at the highest league level in the FBS, but the action in the FCS isn’t exactly small either.
A couple of years ago, a sports center costing $47 million was opened at Northern Arizona University, which includes, among other things, a fitness center, a 160-seat lecture hall for team meetings, and state-of-the-art aids for recovery, such as a cold and hot pool and a sauna.
– The facilities are absolutely fantastic. There are good teams playing in the FCS, but the schools are a bit smaller. It’s mostly about money, says Herranen.
An unforgettable debut
When Herranen made his way to the Northern Arizona team and debuted in a game against Arizona State in front of nearly 45,000 spectators, he became the first Finnish kicker at the Division 1 level. Division 1 includes FBS and FCS.
– It was quite a match. Those students at Arizona State were crazy. One of my pounds (Finnish: kick) was right next to the spectators and they told me that you came here from Finland to kick and that you are miserable. I was just laughing that it was pretty sweet to come here to play, Herranen recalls and laughs.
In American football, the kicker’s position is tailored to a situation where the team no longer believes that it will get the required number of yards on its last four attempts, but is staying in its own half of the field.
Since it is known that the attacking turn is going to the opponent, the air kicker tries to kick the game tool as far as possible to make the opponent’s job more difficult.
This is what it looked like in the stands of Arizona State’s student supporters in the match against Herranen’s team. PDO
All in
Although the role of a jet kicker is narrow and specific, there is plenty of competition.
Last season, 128 teams played in the FCS and 133 in the FBS. Before the first game, Herranen had to compete against two other kickers in his own team and win a place in the lineup.
The level of education below university in the United States is high school, of which there are a five-digit number in the country. There are very few people who want to go to the university level.
– When I came here to Northern Arizona University, my father told me that now I have to decide if I am fully involved, fully in or completely out. That was pretty well said. I still have that saying in my cell phone, says Herranen.
Success in a competitive situation fueled motivation. Herranen noticed that if he trains a lot, he will be able to play.
– I got into the starting line-up and eventually played the whole year. I got a full scholarship.
Tuition at the university is tens of thousands of dollars. With the scholarship, Herranen does not have to pay tuition fees.
Herranen’s family includes mother Anu, younger brother Vincent, twin brother Oskar and father Juha. Eemil Herranen’s home album
More evenness
Herranen was born in Helsinki and lived the first years of his life in Kauniainen, until the family moved to the United States in the early 2010s. In his childhood, Herranen played football – that is, what is called soccer in the USA.
Herranen goes to Finland every summer, but in practice he has grown up in the USA since his pre-teens, which can be heard in the young man’s speech.
– Consistency. Every punt has to be good, Herranen answers when asked what is the biggest obstacle in the way of the NFL dream at the moment.
– If you look at the NFL, 19 punts out of 20 are good. If you give me 20 balls, maybe 14 are good. Even that one has to be bad good enough, good enough. I can kick NFL level balls, but can I every time?
Last season, the coach told Herrasen that he should get more Hang time, i.e. the time the ball spends in the air should increase. It gives Herranen’s teammates more time to run at opponents.
The new season starts in August. Now, during the training season, Herranen is watching videos of NFL punters, i.e. flight kickers. Herranen has taken a particularly close look at the Las Vegas Raiders AJ Cole.
– He is the best in the NFL. The big thing is that when the ball leaves his hand, it goes forward. When I come off the ball, it goes down. Now I’m trying to see if it’s better to pound his way. I’m trying to be better than last year again.
Giants in the team
Herranen occasionally has time to party, but for the most part his everyday life is hard work.
– During the season, the day starts at six in the morning at the weight room, and from there I go straight to school. From school I go to training and then home to do homework and sleep. It’s like that every day, Herranen says.
Herranen will soon get his bachelor’s degree equivalent to the Finnish bachelor’s degree.
In the boxing gym, he focuses on the explosiveness that is needed in kicking. Herranen compares the kicking movement to the golf swing. The foot goes “through” the ball in a relaxed but explosive pendulum motion.
In addition, Herranen focuses a lot on the spiritual side.
Eemil Herranen visits Finland every year in the summer. At that time, among other things, he meets his grandparents Pekka and Kirsti Kekki. Eemil Herranen’s home album
– When I kick, everyone looks at me. If you’re an interior offensive lineman, nobody’s looking at you. If the winger doesn’t catch the ball, there’s always the next play. I can only have one pound. If it’s bad, the match is bad. If you kick badly, the next one must be good.
A team requires a wide range of skills. When Herranen looks at his teammates, he sees athletes capable of tremendous speed and strength.
– If you compare me to my teammates, I’m not terribly good athleteHerranen says.
– You should see these guys here, they’re rubbish. I’m 190 cm tall, but when I go to work out, I’m the smallest guy. These are absolutely insane, also fast. I’m pretty fast myself, but in my own team I’m probably among the five slowest. It takes on the ego, Herranen says and laughs.
Plan
Punters are at the bottom of the NFL’s player salary hierarchy, but the best in the game earn more than three million dollars per season for their special skills.
Herranen has trained a lot as a Super Bowl winner John Carney under. In addition, he says that he got to know the punter, an Irishman, who signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers in May to Daniel Whelan25.
Whelan’s career story is motivating for Herras. A European punter who played at a smaller college than FCS and eventually made it to the NFL.
According to Herranen, players from smaller universities are not often reserved for the NFL at the draft event, but Whelan made it to the lower league level of the XFL, succeeded and finally received a contract offer from Green Bay.
– If I stay here at Northern Arizona University, that’s my plan too. That’s what I’m trying to do, to be the first Finn to make it to the NFL.