by Robert Stewart

    Sam Koch has a lot to look forward to and prepare for these days. On April 29 and 30 NFL teams were participating in the annual draft, selecting young players to add to their rosters. Koch was in contention to be recruited as a punter. His wife, Nikki, is also pregnant with their third child and could deliver any day.
     In an interview on April 29, Koch said that the anticipation was the hardest thing to deal with.
     "Right now, we're just kind of waiting," he said.
     Koch's family and friends gathered at his home in Seward to watch both days of the draft on TV, waiting to hear Koch's name. And those who could not be there in person are also lending their support.
     "Everybody's called just to wish me luck," Koch said.
     Koch is a graduate of Seward High School where, during his high school career, he covered the field for the football team, playing tight end, fullback, guard, tackle, center and linebacker and took care of punting and kicking duties, as well as playing on return teams.
     Seward High School football coach Greg Welch remembers Koch as a very focused athlete. He related a story from Koch's junior year at Seward High in which he kicked a 43-yard field goal in the final three seconds of a game to defeat Ralston 16–14. Koch is the first player in Welch's more than two decades of coaching who has taken part in the NFL draft.
     "It doesn't suprise me at all that he's done as well as he has," Welch said.
     After graduation, Koch headed to Lincoln where he was recruited as a punter for the Huskers. He (continued from 1A)
    majored in business administration, and excelled both on and off the field.
     He was named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Academic Honor Roll in 2005 and was the Huskers' starting punter in both 2004 and 2005. He averaged 46.5 yards per punt as a senior.
     Koch said making the transition from playing multiple positions to just playing one had both advantages and disadvantages.
     "I ended up being able to punt all day and focus on that rather than learning the whole playbook, but I do miss being out there as far as the physical aspect," he said.
     Koch graduated from UNL in December of 2005 and since then he has been training, making contacts and waiting to see if he will be picked up by an NFL team in the draft.
     Koch said he spoke to coaches from Minnesota, Seattle and Miami, and they were all encouraging, but during the draft nothing is certain.
     "We wish the special teams coaches were calling the shots in the draft room," Koch's agent, Steve Mudder of Elite Sports Management, Inc., said. "Punting is probably one of the least looked at positions."
     Koch agreed, adding that being in contention as a punter added to the uncertainty.
     "It's (the draft) now finally here. If I was a first-day pick that would be nice, but as a punter you've got to wait," Koch said.
     "We have to wait and see, is somebody going to take that leap and make him one of the one or two punters drafted this year," Mudder said.
     Koch and Mudder said the coaches at UNL have been very supportive of Koch in dealing with scouts and teams interested in recruiting a punter.
     "When every (Nebraska) coach comes out of their way to compliment him, it's gonna help him in this," Mudder said. "I've never had a player in the past that universally is as well-liked as Sam is."
     Although there is no way to prepare for the anxiety of being a part of the draft, Koch has been staying on top of the physical aspect of preparation, training kicking in Seward and going into Lincoln to weight train and further focus on kicking.
     He said he has attended one kicking camp, in Miami in February.
     "It was my first camp in my punting career," he said.
     He said that since he is familiar with the position he hopes to play, he prefers to fine-tune his ability rather than have someone else try to get him to kick their way.
     "I know how to do it myself so I figured I would stick with that," he said. "Right now I'm focusing more on just the punting and being strong."
     He is also trying to relax and take some time off.
     "I'm just trying to save my legs," he said. "I've been punting since July so I could use the rest."
     Honing his kicking skills will prove essential as there are no NFL teams with a punting position open, meaning Koch will have to compete to get time on the field.
     "Every place right now has a punter. They're trying to bring someone in to beat out their punter," Koch said.
     In addition to his skills as a punter, Mudder said that Koch is able to offer the stability of having a family and a willingness to concentrate on the job at hand as a benefit to potential recruiters.
     "Family will help Sam focus and prepare," Mudder said. "He doesn't have two to three years to bounce around."
     "I'm more focused that way," Koch agreed.
     Koch said that, if drafted, family considerations will play an important part in figuring out where to live in a new city.
     "We've got to think about packing the house and all the kids," he said. "We'll have to find the best place (to live) in between the stadium and the house and schools and the house."
     He plans to move his family to whereever he will be playing and is looking forward to the change.
     "It'll be nice to just get out of Seward and see some other part of the world," Koch said.
     NFL training camps will start on Friday, May 12. Not knowing if the newest addition to his family will be born by then is something that Koch has considered. He said he is hoping Nikki will give birth before he might have to leave so he will be able to spend time with her and the baby.
     Nikki said she would stay in Seward while Koch is at camps in order to be near her family and have them available to help out with the baby.
     The Kochs have two children already. They agree that this third child will be their last.
     "Three and that's it, we can't have any more," Koch said.
     "We're not going to have any more," Nikki said.
     Nikki said that waiting to hear whether or not Koch will be drafted has been both exciting and nerve-wracking for her.
     "It's just a lot of anticipation," she said. "We're ready for it to be over. We want to know."
    The call
     On April 30 they found out. In the sixth round of the draft Koch was selected to punt for the Baltimore Ravens.
     When reached by phone, Mudder said everyone was pleased with the outcome, although Koch had expected more national media coverage.
     "I just kept telling him, 'The national media attention doesn't mean anything as long as the NFL knows you're the best,' and they certainly showed that by picking him," he said. "The whole family's excited."