Rookie kicker Cairo Santos, a native of Brazil, is still in disbelief about his country’s performance in the World Cup. Santos watched Brazil’s shocking 7-1 loss to Germany in the World Cup semifinals from his home in St. Augustine, Fla.
“I like to watch the game on my Xbox and watch it in Portuguese,” said Santos, who was a high-school exchange student in Florida. “The commentators were real surprised. They said it was too easy (for Germany). There’s no heart … they were beat down because of the Neymar injury and our captain was not able to play. It was pretty rough to watch.
“I almost threw up after the third goal … it came so fast. It was very hard to come back from.”
Santos, the Lou Groza Award winner as a junior at Tulane, has been idle during the rookie camp largely because deep snapper Thomas Gafford and holder Dustin Colquitt have not arrived. He was limited to kicking field goals off a stick tee on Monday.
“They told me to rest until (starting kicker Ryan) Succuop gets here, and then we’ll get the competition going,” said Santos. “I’m excited for them to get here on Thursday.
“The biggest thing for me is to impress this coaching staff. If I can’t get a job here, I trust they’ll put in a word to other teams. I know (special teams) coach (Dave) Toub is well-respected. I’m thankful to be kicking in front of this staff and happy they’re willing to help me out.”
Santos’ longest field goal in college was 56 yards. When asked his range, he said: “With no wind … or indoors, 60. If I have a wind at my back, 65 … Into the wind, around 50. It’s all about staying fresh for game day and you can make those long ones.”
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