Jack Avery Atkins (born June 11, 1999) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

from 2018 to 2021, where he served as the Tigers'

kickoff specialist A kickoff specialist is a special teams position in gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the kickoff. These players tend to have a strong leg, often capable of making touchbacks, and capable of keeping a ball in the bou ...

Early life

Atkins attended Auburn High School in Auburn, Alabama. Earning three letters in football for positions as safety, kicker and punter, Atkins garnered several accolades that led to his status as one of the top high school kickers in the country. During his junior year in 2016, Atkins earned all-state honors as the team's safety. That year, he was also the X-Factor Athlete, according to the

Opelika-Auburn News The ''Opelika-Auburn News'' is a daily newspaper in Alabama, serving Opelika, Auburn, and the communities surrounding Lee County. The newspaper serves to report local, weather, sports, and entertainment news within the areas. History The ne ...

. In his senior year in 2017, Atkins served as team captain. That year, he helped lead his team to a 10–2 record. Also in 2017, Atkins was a member of the 2017 Alabama Sports Writers Association 7A All-State Team. Other high school accolades include Atkins being named a four-star prospect by Kohl's Kicking Professional Camps and a two-time Athlete of the Week via ''The Auburn Villager'' newspaper (once in 2016 and once in 2018). In addition to football, Atkins also made a name for himself at Auburn High School on the soccer field. Playing center forward, Atkins was a five-time letterman on his high school men's soccer team, setting a school record with 27 goals during his senior season in 2018. Also in 2018, Auburn High School earned a winning spot in the 7A Alabama State Soccer Championship. Atkins' soccer accolades include being named Varsity Soccer MVP in both 2016 and 2019 and Clutch Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015.

College career

Freshman

Coming off the heels of high school success, Atkins started his true freshman season at LSU in 2018. During this time, Atkins would prove himself to be one of the country's top talents in terms of kickoff specialists. Serving as the starting kicker, Atkins went on to experience a record-setting season. This includes setting LSU's school record for touchbacks, as well as his own career record with eight touchbacks (out of nine kickoffs) in the 2018 LSU game against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. In total, 71 of Atkins' 79 kicks during his freshman season went for touchbacks. This ranked LSU at number five in the nation for touchbacks. Atkins' efforts led to LSU ranking number three in the nation for kickoff returns allowed (6) and number one for fewest kickoff return yards allowed (126). By the end of the 2018 season, Atkins led the country with a 91.4 percent touchback rate, solidifying his status as one of the nation's best college placekickers.

Sophomore

Atkins continued his record-setting trend into his sophomore season at LSU in 2019. Records include being number one nationally in total kickoffs, with 131 across 15 games played. He led the NCAA in touchback percentage, with 110 of his 131 kickoffs going for touchbacks. Career record highs in 2019 included 11 touchbacks in games against Vanderbilt,

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

and

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Johnson and Alexandria. It is a part of the Un ...

. Atkins helped LSU rank number 12 in the nation for kickoff returns allowed that year (15), as well as number 18 for total allowed kickoff return yardage with 337 yards. In 2019 under Atkins' influence, LSU won its fourth

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

with a 15–0 season.

Junior

As a junior, Atkins was one of the Division I leaders in kickoff percentage due to hitting touchbacks on 46 of his 60 kickoffs. Only one kick went out of bounds.

Senior

Coming into his senior season, Atkins was awarded the No. 18 jersey, becoming the first kicker to do so. The No. 18 jersey is an LSU tradition for onfield and off-field success as well as being an unselfish player.

Statistics

Defensive

Kickoffs

Personal life

Atkins' parents are Jack and Nikki Atkins. He has one sister, Taylor Ann, who is an ICU nurse. Atkins' grandfather, George Atkins, was an offensive line coach at Auburn from 1956 to 1971, coaching with

Ralph "Shug" Jordan James Ralph "Shug" Jordan ( ; September 25, 1910 – July 17, 1980) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Auburn University from 1951 to 1975, wh ...

. His grandmother, Leah Rawls Atkins, was once a world champion water skier, becoming the first woman to be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. He has fathered 8 sons, all who attend Auburn University and are part of the Pulisic's Prodigies Intramural soccer team. In addition to the preferred walk-on offer from LSU that he ultimately accepted, Atkins received offers from competing Southeastern Conference school

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, Ivy League institutions

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and others, including a scholarship offer from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. Atkins cited special teams coach Greg McMahon, head coach

Ed Orgeron Edward James Orgeron Jr. (; born July 27, 1961), nicknamed "Coach O", is an American former American football, college football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), a position he held from midw ...

, and assistant athletics director Sam Nader, along with a desire to play for an SEC football team, as his primary motivations for choosing LSU. Atkins graduated from LSU in May 2021, with a degree in kinesiology. His hobbies and interests include church activities, skiing, boating, traveling, reading and working with children. He was elected co-president of the LSU Student Athletes Advisory Council in 2020. He attended the SEC Football leadership conference in January 2020 as an LSU football representative and was a member of the SEC Football Leadership Council.

References

External links

LSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Avery 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Auburn, Alabama American football placekickers Auburn High School (Alabama) alumni LSU Tigers football players