The Los Angeles Rams have picked rookie kicker Samuel Sloman as the successor to Greg Zuerlein to begin the 2020 NFL season after a battle during training camp.
The Rams were clearly impressed with Sloman’s potential after taking him in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Miami (Ohio). Regardless, he still had his work cut out trying to edge out Lirim Hajrullahu and Austin MacGinnis for the starting kicker job.
After all, Hajrullahu made his bones in the CFL while MacGinnis was able to take full advantage of the truncated XFL season. Despite being the only player without professional experience, Sloman did enough to receive the vote of confidence from the coaching staff.
Sloman admits that his biggest challenge was just staying focused on the task at hand, via Stu Jackson of the team’s official website
“It’s just one of those things, my mindset every day was control what I can control. It’s up to me to perform at my highest ability and make kicks,” Sloman said during a video conference with local media Saturday afternoon. “It really didn’t matter what was going on, I just approached it every single day, controlling what I can control, making as many kicks as possible, just performing the way I know I can.”
Sloman added that he is looking forward to getting to work as part of the new special teams trio that includes long snapper Jake McQuaide and punter Johnny Hekker:
“I was pretty happy. I was excited, but I was also a little bit relieved,” Sloman said. “I’m really excited just to be able to prepare for next week and focus on doing my job next Sunday. I think we’re able to make that shift to get a little bit better rhythm with (long snapper) Jake (McQuaide) and (punter) Johnny (Hekker).”
Although he may only be a rookie, Sloman’s approach indicates that he is well beyond his years in terms of confidence. It paid huge dividends for him and training camp and he will now have an opportunity to make it come to fruition in the 2020 campaign.
Sloman certainly has some big shoes to fill given Zuerlein’s run as one of the more notable kickers in the NFL. While leg strength and accuracy will be a critical factor, McVay is hoping that his ability to perform in the clutch will be the biggest perk he brings to special teams.
