Kansas football has a record-setting kicker. The key is his pregame ritual
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- Laith Marjan is 11-for-11 on field goals and 28-for-28 on extra points this season.
- He needs one made field goal to surpass Dodge Schwartzburg’s 1984 Kansas record.
- Marjan ranks among national leaders with long-range accuracy and steady composure.
Ask Lance Leipold about kicker Laith Marjan, and the Kansas coach will knock on wood.
Why? Marjan is a perfect 11-for-11 on field goals this season — and 28-for-28 on extra points — so Leipold doesn’t want to jinx it.
Marjan, himself, is not surprised by the hot start. He told The Star he had a great season at South Alabama last year and the numbers back it up. He finished 16-for-17 on field goals.
“I pride myself in performing well in practice as well,” he said. “Obviously, mistakes happen. Nobody’s perfect. But I don’t think me or anybody on that field goal unit is surprised that it’s going in a positive way, because we did really good things when I was here in the spring.”
Now, he’s one made kick away from owning a school record.
Marjan is tied for the most consecutive made field goals in school history; Dodge Schwartzburg also made 11 straight in 1984. He’s on pace to break the school record against Oklahoma State on Saturday.
He’s having an outstanding year overall. Only three kickers in the country have made more field goals without a miss: Tulane’s Patrick Durkin, San Diego State’s Gabriel Plascencia and Hawaii kicker Kansei Matsuzawa.
The distance has been there, too.
Marjan has gone a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals longer than 40 yards. He even hit a 55-yard field goal against Texas Tech, which was a career-high. He’s never afraid to test his leg.
“The great thing about him is he’s very mature and even-keeled,” Leipold said. “Some guys, they know their range and when you ask them to stretch it, they kind of give you a little look. But he doesn’t. He’ll be like, ‘Yeah, I know if I hit this thing right, I’m going to make it.’ And I really admire that.
“His maturity and confidence and consistency have been a great addition to that specialist room, but to this program as well.”
Marjan provided a glimpse into his conversation with Leipold before his career-long kick vs. Texas Tech.
“He just asked me where I was good from,” Marjan recalled. “I just said, ‘40-yard line. Try to get there, I guess, and put us out there.’”
Also helping the confidence? Before every game week, Marjan has a special off-field routine.
Marjan visualizes taking different kicks and “visualizing good things happening after the kick.” Marjan said that the mental aspect of kicking is huge, which is why he spends that time doing it.
And yes, that means he’s visualized himself hitting a game-winning kick.
“We don’t want to get into a situation where we have to scrape out a win with a field goal, but the reality of college football is close games happen,” he said. “If that moment comes, that would be my first attempt in my career. So I want to be ready for it. I do think about that every week.”
