Ressel achieves dream of starting for Missouri Tigers

Grant Ressel had no guarantee of making the Missouri football team.

But Ressel, a 2007 Jackson High School graduate, always dreamed of one day suiting up for the Tigers. So he stuck with his decision to attend the state's flagship university.

Ressel's determination was rewarded Monday when the walk-on was named MU's place-kicker for Saturday's season opener against Illinois in St. Louis.

"I'm really excited," Ressel said during a telephone interview from Columbia, Mo.

Ressel, a sophomore in eligibility and a junior academically, emerged from a tight three-man battle to replace former all-Big 12 Conference kicker Jeff Wolfert.

"I actually found out after Friday's scrimmage," said Ressel, who will handle field goals and extra points but not kickoffs Saturday. "I'm ready to get the season started and see what I can do."

Ressel, whose only collegiate action so far has been one punt during his redshirt freshman season last year, was a standout kicker at Jackson.

No major programs approached Ressel, although he did have an opportunity to play for several smaller schools, including Southeast Missouri State and some Division II programs.

But Ressel, who was born in Columbia before moving to Jackson at age 3 -- both his parents are Southeast Missouri natives -- had his sights set on competing for the Tigers.

"My brother went here before me," Ressel said. "I always came to football and basketball games here. I watched the Tigers on TV. This was kind of the place to be."

Ressel said that he sent game video of himself to MU coaches as a Jackson senior and tried to get word any way he could that he was interesting in playing for the Tigers.

"I called the [football] office. I bugged them a lot," Ressel said with a laugh.

Ressel said he finally received a visit from an MU coach late during his senior year of high school. The coach was in the area recruiting and had a trip scheduled to Jackson.

"I talked to him for a couple of minutes during lunch," Ressel said. "But when I went to school [at MU], I still had no guarantee of being on the team."

Ressel tried out for the squad that first year in 2007 but was rebuffed.

"They didn't have enough spots on the team when I tried out in the fall," he said. "I had to come back and try out in the spring."

Ressel was able to participate in spring practice and became a member of the squad in 2008. He suited up for all the home games but only traveled twice, to the Illinois contest in St. Louis and the Alamo Bowl against Northwestern.

Ironically, Ressel's only action last season came against Southeast during the Tigers' 52-3 romp in Week 2. He got off a 43-yard punt late in the game.

"It was different, being in a big stadium compared to Jackson's stadium," Ressel said. "Jackson's stadium is big for high school, but it's nothing like [MU[']s]."

With the kicking job wide open after Wolfert's graduation, Ressel believed he had a solid shot to earn the position.

"I just worked as hard as I could," Ressel said.

MU coach Gary Pinkel said Monday that the Tigers' kicking arrangement is not necessarily permanent, meaning that Ressel likely does not have a seasonlong lock on the job, depending on how well he performs.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Ressel doesn't expect anything different.

"I want to perform well anyway, but I know they [the other kickers] are not going to back down," Ressel said. "I have to do my job, be the best kicker I can be."

Pinkel also said Monday that playing without the strong-legged Wolfert likely will affect MU's offensive strategy on fourth-down plays in opposing territory at the start of the season.

Asked about his range in crucial situations, Ressel said he "feels pretty comfortable from about 40 [yards] in. But that's the coaches' call" on the length of field goals he might attempt.

Ressel, a biology major who hopes to become a dentist, was asked if he thinks he some day might earn a scholarship.

"Hopefully. That would be wonderful," he said.

But that can wait for another day. Right now Ressel is thrilled to be the No. 1 kicker for a big-time football program.

"It's really neat because it's like a dream for me to play for Mizzou," he said.