While Connor Lander sat in front of the big screen watching the biggest game of the 2016-17 National Football League season, his eyes kept settling on two particular players.
“I was watching the Super Bowl in sixth grade and I saw the guy punt the ball,†the Parkway Central senior said. “I asked my dad, ‘What is that?’ “
Lander wasn’t focused on quarterbacks Tom Brady or Matt Ryan in the 2017 Super Bowl.
His attention kept drifting from receivers Julian Edelman and Julio Jones to the punters Ryan Allen and Matt Bosher with their booming kicks.
“I think after two days after the Super Bowl, I started kicking and punting the ball in my back yard,†Lander said. “That was the game that got me hooked on football. I didn’t know much about football before then.â€
Ever since Lander learned about the art of kicking and punting, the infatuation settled in.
That was a good thing for the Parkway Central football team.
“If the offense doesn’t do well, we know he’s going to pin them (deep),†Parkway Central assistant coach Scott Davis said. “To have him as a weapon, because truly he is a weapon, we’re going to miss him. He’s been so good for us the last four years.â€
The No. 29 recruit on the Post-Dispatch’s Super 30 countdown of the area’s top senior football prospects, Lander has been a staple in the kicking game for the Parkway Central coach ever since he stepped onto the field in the fall of 2020.
“We knew in middle school that he wanted to be a kicker/punter,†Parkway Central coach Ryan King said. “It’s been his thing for years now.â€
King knew he had a punter in the pipeline for years, but there are times when he’s still blown away by the dedication Lander has for the art.
“First day of practices, he’ll walk a mile around the track and drop the ball on the line (for a mile),†King said. “The dude’s obsessed.â€
Last season Lander drilled 40 extra points and converted on four field goal attempts. He also averaged 55 yards on kickoffs.
As a punter during a nine-win campaign for the Colts that finished in the Class 4 state quarterfinals, Lander averaged nearly 40 yards on 32 punts. The Colts senior credited teammates on the offensive line for those numbers.
“Our guys did such a great job blocking in front of me,†Lander said.
Lander has drawn interest from Lindenwood, SIU Carbondale, Central Missouri, Quincy and Northwest Missouri State.
David Brader, Lander’s kicking coach with Elite Football Academy, said the specialists drew many eyes during an offseason showcase.
“(More than 22 colleges) stayed on the field when specialists were out there at the Lindenwood Mega Camp,†Brader said. “The majority of the teams were watching punters.â€
Lander hasn’t committed to any program, but Brader said he is putting in the work necessary to perfect his craft.
“His work ethic, I’d put him in the top tier of the guys I’ve coached in the last 20 years,†Brader said. “He was in my building catching balls from the jugs machine with garden gloves on to work on his technique. He’d catch 200 snaps in an hour and fine tune that punting technique. It’s that kind of thing that sets an athlete like that apart.â€
It’s been a whirlwind of emotions as Lander navigates the recruitment process, but Central’s King said a college program will get a gem in his special teams maestro.
“The dude’s obsessed with punting,†King said. “He’s been that way since he was middle-school aged. A college is going to get a guy who will is obsessed with his technique.â€
Top high school football players: The Post-Dispatch Super 30 countdown 2023-24
Follow Paul Halfacre on Twitter/X at @pHalfacre_STL.
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Parkway Central kicker and punter Connor Lander is No. 29 on the 2023 Post-Dispatch Super 30 football recruiting countdown. As a junior, Lander averaged nearly 40 yards on 32 punts, 55 yards on kickoffs, made 40 extra points and four field goals. Gordon Radford | Special to the Post-Dispatch