Given that Tennessee has outscored its first two opponents 120-13 this football season, redshirt freshman kicker Max Gilbert hasn’t exactly been needed for a pressure-packed field-goal attempt.
Gilbert believes fourth-year Volunteers coach Josh Heupel has prepared him should the situation arise.
“Normally in spring practice and fall camp, he’ll have us do pressure kicks,” Gilbert said earlier this week in a news conference. “The whole team will form a tunnel around you. They’re messing with the snapper. They’re messing with Jackson (Ross), the holder, and Coach Heupel is standing right behind me and screaming in my ears and telling me I’m going to miss it.
“It really prepares you, honestly, because it’s similar to a game in terms of pressure. If I can make a kick with Coach Heupel screaming next to my ear, I think I’ll be good anywhere else.”
The 6-foot, 200-pounder from Lausanne School in Memphis made all 13 of his extra-point tries during recent games against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and North Carolina State, and he is also 5-of-6 on field-goal attempts. His lone miss occurred from 53 yards out with 3:50 remaining in last Saturday night’s 51-10 humbling of the Wolfpack. His 45-yarder on the final play of the first half for a 20-3 lead is his longest successful attempt for the Vols.
“It’s definitely been a surreal experience, growing up in the state and going to Tennessee games,” Gilbert said. “It’s awesome running out of the ‘T’ and kicking in front of everybody.”
Gilbert made 45 of 46 extra-point attempts and connected for six field goals during his senior season at Lausanne, including a 47-yarder. He also punted 17 times for 704 yards (41.4 yards per punt) with a long of 63 yards, and he sent 57 of his 61 kickoffs for touchbacks.
As a junior, he made a career-long 54-yard field goal.
Gilbert arrived at Tennessee in December 2022, participating in Orange Bowl practices and then beginning classes in January 2023. He did not get in any games last season while redshirting behind sixth-year senior Charles Campbell, who made 18 of 23 field-goal attempts for a 78.3% success rate and did not miss from inside 40 yards.
“Charles was just such a good resource to learn from,” Gilbert said. “He did it at the highest level. Getting a year to sit back and learn from him was really beneficial to my growth and development as a kicker.”
The 19-year-old Gilbert is certainly the pup of Tennessee’s kicking components, with Ross a 25-year-old holder and Matthew Salansky a 24-year-old snapper. Soccer was Gilbert’s favorite sport while growing up, but he kicked in eighth grade and had impeccable timing that year as Lausanne’s kicker and punter were both seniors.
There was no looking back then for Gilbert, just like there is no looking back now.
“Any situation this coaching staff wants to put me in, I feel confident,” he said. “That can be a 25-yarder or attempting a national record.”
Lots of orange
Tennessee announced Thursday that the Vols will wear orange jerseys and orange pants against Kent State (0-2) on Saturday night (7:45 on the SEC Network).
The Vols wore that combination just once last season, routing UTSA 45-14 in those uniforms. They had that look twice in 2022 for blowouts of Akron, 63-6, and UT Martin, 65-24.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.