By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

Not many kids grow up hoping to be a kicker in the NFL. Most dream of throwing the game winning touchdown as a quarterback or making the bone crushing hit at linebacker.

Count Jonathan Scifres among the latter group. But, when you have his last name, there’s only one logical conclusion for your future in football.

Any hopes that Scifres had of becoming a linebacker were ruined by Steven Robischeaux, his coach in the New Orleans suburb of Destrehan.

“Basically I had no choice,” Scifres said. “I tried to play linebacker, but they said no.”

Scifres’ athletic bloodlines probably would have allowed him to play anywhere, but considering the success of his brother Mike as a punter, it became a no brainer for his coaches to install him as the kicker/punter.

Of course, Mike Scifres never wanted to be a punter either, but it worked out pretty well for him. He has become one of the NFL’s best punters, ranking among the league leaders for the San Diego Chargers.

“I never wanted to kick, it kind of fell in my lap, same with him,” Jon Scifres said. “We started playing football and it was something to try. It ended up being his profession now. The high school coaches just said after he left that this is what you are going to do. You are going to kick and punt. You’re a Scifres, that’s how it goes.”

And so it began for the Scifres brothers on their many adventures in kicking. The pair attended Dick Pierce’s kicking camps in New Orleans a couple of times. The performance of Mike Scifres was enough to land him a scholarship to Randy Ball’s Western Illinois program.

By the time it was Jon’s turn to move to the next level, Ball had moved on to Missouri State. When it was his time to find another kicker, he had no problems turning to the next in the line of Scifres.

The Scifres brothers even squared off in one game. While Mike’s Western Illinois team was able to win by five, Jon Scifres said he might have had the better individual performance.

“He was punting and kicking off,” Jon Scifres said. “I was kicking off and kicking field goals. They beat us by five. I would say my field goals were better. I had like a 47 yarder and a 42 yarder. He had like one punt that was around 46. My day was more productive I think.”

Soon after that meeting, Mike Scifres took off for the NFL. In the meantime, Jon blossomed into a do-everything weapon for Missouri State. He handled all of the kicking duties, kicking off, punting and kicking field goals and extra points.

In nearly every facet, Scifres excelled. In 2004, he set an NCAA Division I-AA record for consecutive field goals with 15. The streak stretched to 18 before he finally missed last season in a game against Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

“It was close, missed it wide to the left,” Scifres lamented.

When his career as a Bear was over, Scifres had made 39 of 55 field goal opportunities, relatively modest numbers for a four-year starter. His longest make came from 49 yards away, but he says that is because his coach wouldn’t let him try from much further away.

“Even if we had a chance to kick between 52 and 55 yards, they wanted to punt,” Scifres said. “It was their decision. Either way I was going in there.”

While that was the case in high school and college, it won’t be at the next level. Scifres is expected to stray slightly from his brother’s footsteps and be a kicker at the NFL level.

When Mike Scifres entered the NFL, he had the benefit of sitting a year behind punter Darren Bennett and learning the ropes from one of the league’s most respected punters.

Jon Scifres says he would have no problems learning from another kicker for a year should that unlikely scenario present itself. Even if he doesn’t have to do that, he will always have his brother to turn to for advice.

“I knew everything that was coming at me,” Scifres said. “Once my season was over…he helped me out more mentally in my kicking game. He said they were already impressed by something you have done or you wouldn’t be where you are so just have fun and kick the ball.”

Some recent rumors about Scifres might have dampened that fun-loving spirit, but he still figures to be one of the first and few kickers or punters drafted when the selections begin Saturday.

“I just want to be on a roster and get a chance,” Scifres said.