Minnesota, Colorado Both Recruiting Kicker Who Made 67-Yard Field Goal

A recruiting battle could be brewing over a high school kicker from Broomfield, Colorado who has verbally committed to Minnesota but then made an unofficial visit to Colorado a day after making a state-record 67-yard field goal.

The kicker, Kip Smith, a senior at Broomfield Legacy High School, has Gophers fans excited because he has said he'll be playing at Minnesota in 2010. But after his big field goal Friday, he reportedly made an unofficial visit to Colorado to watch the Buffs play Colorado State.

Verbal commitments aren't worth the paper they're not printed on, so we'll have to wait until Smith signs on the dotted line before we know whether he'll be a Gopher or a Buffalo. But we do know the kid has an awfully strong leg. Yes, it's true that his 67-yarder came without a rush on a fair catch free kick, and it's true that the kick benefited from the thin air of Westminster, Colorado, with its elevation of 5,300 feet. Nonetheless, it was the state record in the state where field goals fly longest, and either Minnesota or Colorado has a very good kicker coming next season.