Normal, Ill. - The Illinois State football team added another recruit to its 2010 signing class Monday, as head coach Brock Spack announced placekicker Nick Aussieker has signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to continue his athletic and academic career at ISU.
Spack believes that Aussieker will bring the versatility in the kicking game that the coaching staff was looking for.Aussieker becomes the 16th high school player to sign with the Redbirds during the spring signing period. Spack mentioned on National Signing Day that the Redbirds were still looking to add a kicker to the class that could add some depth to the special team's unit that lost punter Kevin Mazur and Zach Kutch to graduation. Senior Steven Fetzer returns as the lone ISU kicker with game experience and freshman Mike Wood will look to help fill the punter's role after sitting out the 2009 as a redshirt.
"We needed to add a younger player who could handle kickoffs, field goals and punts and Nick is versatile enough to fill all those roles for us," Spack said. "He's a good all-around athlete and had a lot of success as a prep player in Missouri. I think the addition of Nick takes a little pressure off the guys we already have here and will allow Wood to focus on punting and Fetzer to focus on the placekicking duties. We look forward to getting Nick in camp and seeing how he progresses during the fall."
Nick Aussieker | K/P | 5-11 | 175 | Fr.-HS | Wildwood, Mo. (Lafayette)
Lafayette HS: Three-year letterwinner ... First-Team Class 6A All-State kicker selection by the Missouri Football Coaches Association and the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association after senior season ... earned first-team all-conference honors as a kicker and punter ... second-team All-Metro St. Louis kicker and honorable mention All-Metro St. Louis punter ... set high school single-season record with nine field goals as a senior while helping team to the state quarterfinals ... also the school's career record holder with 18 career field goals made... kicked a career-high three field goals in a win against Northwest and booted a season-long 41-yard field goal in the state quarterfinals against Hazelwood Central ... averaged nearly 54 yards per kickoff and 35 yards per punt in final season ... named a Second-Team Class 6A All-State kicker selection by the Missouri Football Coaches Association as junior ... named first-team all-conference kicker and third-team punter ... connected on six field goal attempts, with a long of 44 yards ... was a four-year scholar athlete and honor roll selection and was named the Gateway West Young Achievers Scholar. Data: Born Feb. 28, 1992, in Wildwood, Mo. ... son of Fred and Karen Aussieker ... his father, Fred, played football at Northeast Missouri State ... his cousin, Tori Sarantakis, is a member of the ISU gymnastics team.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
