After a long off-season of headlines for the Scouts football program, Kai Kroeger, the number three punter in the nation according to Kohls.com, gave his full commitment on July 30 to play football at the University of South Carolina for the Gamecocks.

Kroeger, who originally started out as a quarterback in his freshman season with the Scouts, found himself punting during his sophomore season and it skyrocketed from there.

Kroeger has been to a number of showcases around the country, as well as many recruiting visits to places such as Penn State, Illinois, Northwestern, LSU, and South Carolina.  Kai has also reached number one in the Kohl’s rankings before and has bounced around the top three since then.

While South Carolina ultimately was Kroeger’s only offer, it proved to be a great fit; he fell in love with the university.

“When I visited back in March, I had a great time.  I was able to hang around with the specialists (punters and kickers) and talk to them, which was a really cool experience. Hearing what they had to  say about the school itself outside of football really made me want to go there,” he said.

Kroeger ended up committing in person while on his visit when he was offered,” I wanted to commit in person and with my family there so it was a special moment.”

South Carolina, an SEC school, plays in arguably the toughest college football conference in the country, a conference that features powerhouse programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Georgia.  The Gamecocks 2019 season slate features Alabama, Georgia, and an incredibly tough non-conference test verse the reigning champions the Clemson Tigers to close out the regular season. South Carolina plays with the “Big dogs” of college football and is considered one themselves.

Kai, now a wide receiver in addition to his punting role for Coach Spagnoli and the Scouts, is eager to get at it with his teammates as they take on Antioch on Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Varsity Field.

Kroger is not the only football player to sign on with a top program. Senior Rylie Mills will play with Notre Dame next year.