Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News Abilene Ruff Riders kicker Nich Pertuit kicks the opening kickoff of the second half during the Ruff Riders game against San Angelo on Saturday, March 20, 2010, at the Taylor County Coliseum.
Before Nich Pertuit attempted his first field goal for the Ruff Riders last year — the team’s inaugural season in Abilene, the third-year Wylie boys soccer coach had his eye on the future and his imagination set to overdrive.
A self-described positive guy, Pertuit said the dream was there to kick in the NFL, and the hope was that a year or two in the Indoor Football League would be his ticket.
At that time, such a goal may have seemed like just that — a dream. But a year later, what once sounded like wishful thinking may be a little more realistic.
Pertuit, whose 37 field goal attempts and 61 extra point tries last year were his first since his senior year in high school, will be in Pheonix on Saturday and Sunday to participate in a free agent specialists combine held by 13-year NFL coach Gary Zauner. There, Pertuit and a number of other kickers, punters and long snappers will show their stuff for NFL, CFL and United Football League scouts in hopes of earning a spot with a franchise in one of those leagues.
And though he said he’s not quite sure what to expect, his goals are high as always.
“At first, (kicking) was just a new opportunity,” said Pertuit, who contacted and started working with Zauner last year before reestablished contact to extend an invitation to the combine. “But I’m really competitive, and I’ve one of those guys that anytime I do something like this, I want to the be the best. I don’t want to be OK.
“But I realized how much potential there was when I finally worked with (Zauner). Hearing from a professional coach that you have natural talent, that really was an eye-opening experience. I’ve always said the sky is the limit and let my imagination go. Why not?”
Pertuit’s optimism is not without reason.
He said his leg strength received high marks from Zauner, who thinks the outdoor game might suit him well.
Indoors, Pertuit is forced to take something off his field goals to focus on putting the ball through the uprights, which are just nine feet apart, and leg strength is largely negated on kickoffs, where kicks through the end zone are of little benefit.
For that, and other reasons, the outdoor game intrigues Pertuit, who said he has hit a 65-yard field goal without a wind and a 73-yarder with heavy gusts at his back.
“That’s one of the most fun parts, I don’t have to worry about hitting the ceiling or kicking too far,” he said. “I get to let my leg loose. Outdoors, on kickoffs and field goals, the higher and farther the better as long as it’s straight.
“And really I just enjoy being outdoors. Growing up playing soccer, I’ve always been an outdoors guy.”
But while the opportunity to play on football’s biggest stage is before him, and a contract offer would make his story one worthy of the cinema, Pertuit said he’s taking everything in stride. He loves his life as it is, and is more than happy to return to it if things don’t work out this weekend.
If he impresses scouts enough to earn a contract, as 17 of the 41 kicking specialists did a year ago, he’s prepared to live his dream. But if his “fallback plan” means returning to a busy schedule that includes coaching the Bulldogs, kicking for the Ruff Riders and completing his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Texas Tech, that’s fine, too.
“I always keep a positive outlook and the way I see it, I really have nothing to lose,” he said. “I have a blast at everything I do. I love coaching, I love teaching and I have a great wife (ACU assistant women’s basketball coach, Terri Pertuit). Everything is going pretty well for me.
“I’d like to see how far I can advance, but I don’t really feel any pressure. I’m just having a good time.”
