Lumberjacks land kicker from Brophy
This is No. 11 in a month-long series of profiles of Arizona high school seniors that signed with four-year colleges. Here's the full list (currently totaling 254) of players from within the state moving on to the next level.
SPOTLIGHT: 2/20/22
Northern Arizona is graduating Luis Aguilar, an alum of Nogales HS. The Lumberjacks just recruited another in-state kicker with Marcus Lye.
Lye is completing his senior year at Brophy College Preparatory, where he kicked and punted for the Broncos for the last three seasons. The interesting part of the story is Lye had never seen or played football until he was 13 years old.
Lye was born in Australia and lived there for 10 years before moving to Madagascar due to his dad's work. He lived on the African island nation for two years and then one year in Peru. His sports journey began in Australia playing rugby and cricket, two sports popular in that country. In Madagascar and Peru, Lye played soccer. Upon moving to Phoenix, he continued playing soccer through middle school and into his freshman year.
"Before freshman year and throughout middle school, I had played football with my friends for fun, but had never actually 'played'," Lye said in an e-mail interview. "I went out for summer football and soon after, quit, as I couldn't understand any of the plays or coverages."
After the first game of his sophomore year, he saw several of his friends playing and they suggested he try and kick because of his soccer background.
"I went out that week and it all just clicked," Lye said. "That's when I met my coach, Alex Zendejas, and he told me I had raw talent and a lot of potential. Alex Zendejas has helped me develop so much into the kicker and person I am today, and I am so grateful for that. I still remember him telling me that he would put me up against any college or pro kicker on my best day. Working with him is what really helped me take my talents to the next level."
Alex, of course, comes from the famous Zendejas family of kickers. He played at Arizona in college and later with the Arizona Rattlers in the Arena Football League. Zendejas started AZ Kicking and Training back in 2017, working with future kickers.
Lye enjoyed a breakthrough season in his senior year. He booted 12 field goals with a long of 53 yards against Red Mountain. Lye was also reliable in kickoffs sending 43 of his 56 attempts into the end zone, ensuring the opposing offense would have to go 80 yards to score a touchdown. He was named as the First Team All-6A Conference kicker in just his third year of kicking.
"At the start of the season, we all set goals as a team and as individuals," Lye said. "One of my goals was to be named First Team All-Conference, so it was a massive honor to get that. Knowing I reached my goal was amazing."
Unlike other positions, colleges normally don't recruit more than one kicker. And that's not every year either. If a team has a returning starter, there might be just one other kicker on the roster, not four (one for each class year). Northern Arizona was working its way in with Lye early.
"I started communicating with the NAU coaches throughout the season and went up for two game day visits," Lye said. "On my official visit (in December), from the minute I walked in the hotel doors, I felt at home. All the coaches greeted my family and me and made us feel welcome. The coaching staff at NAU is just phenomenal. From (Special Teams) Coach (Dave) Ungerer to (Head) Coach (Chris) Ball, they are all amazing. Coach Ball is building something special up at NAU and just by talking to him, I knew I want to be a part of that."
NAU also recently opened up a new practice field and a student-athlete high-performance center.
"The new facilities that just opened up at NAU are amazing," They are the best facilities you could find anywhere in the country. NAU is such a good school and the campus is so beautiful."
Lye received his offer during his visit the first weekend of December and committed a day later. He was part of 20 commitments that signed in the Early Signing Period, and one of six from the state of Arizona.
Brophy practiced at 5 am BST, which I'm going to assume is "Brophy Standard Time". Personally, I'm not up at that hour on any day of the week, but the Broncos take the field before school and Lye gets his kicks in. The longest one he hit in practice or pregame warmups was a 60-yarder.
The Broncos had a turnaround season in 2021 rebounding from an 0-7 COVID-shortened season, with limited practice time before the games began, to 7-5. Brophy competed in the difficult Desert Valley Region, made the playoffs, and advanced to the quarterfinals. The returning players sought to make sure their senior years would turn out differently.
"Our winless season in 2020 was really devastating, especially for the seniors, during that COVID year," Lye said. "We all put in so much work during the offseason and put in countless hours getting better. It showed this year as we ended up going to the 6A quarterfinals.
Playing in more meaningful games also adds pressure. Midway through the fourth quarter, BCP was tied with Chaparral at 21. The Firebirds scored and Zac Swanson blocked the extra point to keep the margin at six. Brophy came back with a TD pass from Elijah Warner to David Lopez. Lye's extra point was the difference in a 28-27 victory.
"When I am out there, I have one job and that is all I focus on," Lye said. "One kick could be game-changing, so I make sure I am always staying ready and locked in on the sideline."
That game against Chaparral was Homecoming for the Broncos and Lye called it the most memorable moment from his career at Brophy.
"We went into that game as the underdog and worked our tails off to get that win," Lye said. "With Chaparral also being a rival of Brophy, it was awesome to get the victory over them and kick the game-winning extra point. The whole game was filled with so much excitement and getting that win with my teammates was just incredible."
Flagstaff is located at 7,000 feet of altitude and it's no myth that balls fly higher at the thinner air. Lye is excited to get up there and start kicking more than a mile high.
"I have never kicked in a place with high altitude, so it will definitely be cool to see those few extra yards on my kicks," Lye said. "I am hoping to get up there, make an immediate impact, and hopefully break some records and win some big games."
Looking at the Lumberjacks' roster, the team has three returners vying for the kicking spot. Collin Robbins is a sophomore from Fountain Hills High School. Clay Gross is a redshirt freshman from Prescott High School. Eemil Herranen is a transfer from McNeese State (La.) and has four years of eligibility. One of the four will be the kicker when NAU opens its season in Tempe against the Sun Devils. The Lumberjacks topped Arizona in Tucson last year. Can they pull another upset against an ASU program that is currently dealing with its own turmoil?
NAU added nine more players during the on the February signing day. Six more of those are in-state giving the team an even dozen new players from Arizona. The Lumberjacks finished 5-6 in 2021 and play in the Big Sky Conference (FCS).
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