UNLV sophomore kicker tackling multiple roles for the Rebels

By Taylor Bern

Friday, Sept. 12, 2014 | 2 a.m.

Once a ball is kicked off, the kicker’s job is often perceived to be done. The coverage team is tasked with tracking down the returner, and if that ball carrier breaks through to that last line of defense — the guy who gave him the ball in the first place — it’s usually a cringe-worthy moment.

The sleight, converted soccer player rarely has a chance against the athlete heading at him with a full head of steam. While it wasn’t exactly his intention, UNLV sophomore Nicolai Bornand has tackled this stereotype along with several returners who probably didn’t realize the kicker freelances as a linebacker.

Or is Bornand a linebacker who moonlights as a kicker? That’s a bit of an internal struggle for the Santa Barbara, Calif., native who has the body to play defense — 6-foot-1, 230 pounds — and the leg to drill a 54-yard field goal last Saturday in a 13-12 victory against Northern Colorado.

“I see myself as a kicker,” Bornand said, “… but I love linebacker.”

The Rebels (1-1) return to action Saturday at 4 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium against Northern Illinois (2-0). The game will stream on the Mountain West Network powered by Campus Insiders.

That 54-yard field goal is tied for the school record with two 1994 kicks by Nick Garritano and a 1986 boot by Jim Cook. That make plus his six kickoffs — including two touchbacks and two drives starting inside the 20-yard line — earned Bornand Special Teams Player of the Week honors from the Mountain West.

His field goal could have backed up a couple of yards, if not all the way to a 60-yard attempt, and still cleared the uprights. That alone could be enough to persuade some people to devote themselves to only one task, but that’s not how Bornand sees it.

“They’re giving me the opportunity to do both, so I’m taking it,” Bornand said.

At Dos Pueblos High, Bornand was all over the field. More specifically, he was all over multiple fields plus a track. He played soccer for two years and ran the 100-meter dash. On the gridiron, Bornand saw time at kicker, punter, linebacker and tight end.

In 2012 Bornand was named the league’s defensive MVP and all-city defensive player of the year. UNLV coach Bobby Hauck, who’s also the Rebels’ special teams coordinator, told Bornand during the recruiting process that he’d get a chance to play multiple positions. The rest was up to him.

Both sides have kept to that arrangement. Bornand attends meetings for both position groups. When he comes out for practice, the kicking comes first, and then he joins the linebackers as they start to work on position-specific drills or scrimmaging.

The only change Bornand makes between playing the positions is his right shoe. Other than that, he said, the mentality is the same. There’s obviously more technique required for linebacker than kicker, but he attacks the ball with the same focus he would a ball carrier.

Last year Bornand was on kickoffs part time, appearing in nine games. Twenty-nine percent of his 48 kickoffs went for touchbacks, though he also sent three out of bounds. That’s already happened once this year, too, with Bornand drawing a penalty immediately after making his first career field goal attempt from 48 yards against Arizona.

The other wrinkle to Bornand’s status is that he’s not the Rebels’ full-time kicker. Bornand does kickoffs and long-distance field goals — about 45 yards and longer — while junior Jonathan Leiva handles kicks inside of that yardage and extra points.

Leiva, a junior college transfer from Palomar College, is 2-for-3 on field goals with makes from 41 and 35 yards and a miss against Arizona from 43 yards. Leiva is built more like a traditional kicker, measuring in 1 inch and 55 pounds shy of Bornand.

Hauck gave both kickers plenty of reps throughout camp and settled on his two-kicker system after determining Leiva is more accurate than Bornand closer to the goalposts.

“You’ve got to be automatic in there, and he has been for the most part,” Hauck said after Saturday’s game.

In-game performances could always change that dynamic. A streak of misses from either guy could get the other promoted to full time, although it’s clear Bornand has the leg for longer kicks even if accuracy becomes an issue.

As for the other job he’s competing for, Bornand has yet to play a snap at linebacker. It’s possible that the more valuable he makes himself as a kicker, the less likely that is to ever happen.

Still, Bornand puts in the time and the effort chasing his dream of being a two-way player in Division I. And if he never gets his day at linebacker, at least he can surprise some people when the kicker makes a form tackle that proves he actually knows what he’s doing.

“If I see the field at linebacker that’s great, but kicking is my real goal for the future,” Bornand said.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.