By Jim O'Hara
 
ROME, Ga. – Those who play the position quickly come to understand that what they do for a football team during a game is magnified when they are called on to do what is asked of them.

From the time he first starting punting a football at Gordon Lee High School, Aaron Mize knew this – he knew that at any given time, he was expected to step up as the "special" guy on the special punt team, using a strong leg to either change the field for his team, get them out of trouble or pin a foe deep in their own territory.

And all of that is fine for him and now, having closed out a four-year career as the punter for the Shorter Hawks, Mize wants to keep doing the thing he loves to do in a game he loves on the next level.

For the past month, the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder from Chickamauga has taken it upon himself to grab the attention of NFL scouts and teams, attending an independent kicking combine in Phoenix, Ariz. – the NFL is not conducting combines for special team players this year – and another in Mobile, Ala., where his performance numbers are now included in a national special team data base for scouts to see.

"I feel like I'm on the right path," Mize said about chasing his dream to become a professional punter. "I wanted to go to Phoenix to see where I stacked up and I kept up with every one of them.

"That gave me the confidence to go down to Mobile," he added, "and did real well. It's a start to get my name out there."

Mize has done his homework about what he needs to do to get noticed, pointing out that most NFL teams look for punters to sign as free agents instead of using their draft picks and that throughout the season many roster changes take place as teams unsatisfied with a punter – again, their performances are more noticeable and under a microscope – are quick to make changes.

As a Shorter Hawk, Mize wound up punting the ball 168 times – the second most in team history – averaging nearly 37 yards and in 2013 set a single-season record with 58 boots. An All-Mid-South Conference honorable mention pick as a freshman, Mize – he was three-time Gulf South Conference Academic Honor Roll selection – record the third longest punt in Shorter history last fall with a 65-yarder against Mars Hill and developed the ability to deliver the ball inside the opponent's 20 with uncanny accuracy.

Digging into his own pockets to pay his own way to the Kohl's Kicking Combine in Phoenix, Mize clearly held his own among the 40-plus punters in attendance, the majority of them from FBS and FCS Division I programs including Auburn, Tennessee and South Carolina.

After two days of competition, Mize finished 11^th overall averaging 50.1 yards with a 4.23 hang time.

"I went out there to see where I was and get better prepared," said Mize, who returned home and immediately set his sights on taking part in a special team combine in Mobile at Ladd Pebbles Stadium hosted by Team Jackson Kicking and Husted Kicking, and affiliated with the National Camp Series that accumulates statistics for special team punters, kickers and long snappers.

As one of nearly 30 punters, Mize was measured, timed and filmed over a three-day period, with the first day keeping the players busy as open-field punts, punts inside the 20 and punts from the end zone were all charted. The long day resulted in Mize average 41.51 yards for all types of punts, a 4.23 seconds average hang time and a 1.39 second hand-to-foot timing.

More individual competition took place all three days as well and on the second day the athletes took part in drills and instructional sessions.

"My leg was done by Saturday night," said Mize, who pointed out that there is still more work to do get noticed by an NFL or even a CFL team. "I've got to find someone to help give me a chance to give teams a look because I don't have the connections.

"This past month," he said, "has given me a new drive to make it to the next level, doing what I love doing."