Why Justin Tucker is such a great kicker

Jamie Kohl first noticed something different about Justin Tucker around 10 years ago, back when Tucker was still in college at Texas. It happened at one of Kohl's kicking camps.

Tucker had talent, yes. But he made an even bigger impression on Kohl - a former college kicker who now serves as a kicking consultant for the Chicago Bears - with his competitiveness. During a game that rewarded points based on the distance of made field goals, Tucker made it obvious he was there to challenge Florida State's Dustin Hopkins, one of the nation's best college kickers at the time who now plays for the Washington Football Team.

"He basically was doing a Florida State tomahawk war chant every time Dustin kicked," Kohl told theScore. "They didn't know each other."

Kohl remains struck by Tucker's confidence that day. Tucker, he said, displayed a steely drive to succeed and didn't care what anyone else might think about him. Kohl stressed he doesn't think every young kicker needs to be so outward and forthright. He also made it clear Tucker isn't some over-the-top, maniacal competitor. But he saw something of an "it" factor from Tucker, and he thinks it's essential to what makes him the player he is today.

“That’s not normal," said Kohl. "That’s a gift in the position he plays.”

Now in his 10th season with the Baltimore Ravens, Tucker plays the position of placekicker better than anyone currently in the NFL. His remarkable game-winning field goal last Sunday to defeat the Detroit Lions - a 66-yarder that broke the league record by 2 yards - was simply a resounding reminder of that fact.

“Frankly, when he went out - I don’t think I’d bet my boat - but I’d bet on him to make it,” former longtime NFL special teams coach Mike Westhoff told theScore.

That's because there's so much to marvel at:

• Tucker has made 90.6% of his field goals, the most accurate mark in league history
• Since 2015, when the NFL moved the line of scrimmage on extra points back to the 15, his 98.4% accuracy rate is better than anyone else's
• He's made 50 consecutive field goals in the fourth quarter or overtime
• Twenty-one of those 50 have been from distances of at least 40 yards, including seven from 50 yards or more
• He's a perfect 16-for-16 on field goals in the final minute of regulation

Being that consistent and that good in high-leverage situations goes well beyond having confidence.

"One of the keys to being a good kicker is knowing how to perfect your technique," Westhoff said. "It’s like being a golfer. You want to make sure you’re maximizing your swing - you’re not trying to swing like Jack Nicklaus. That’s what he does exceptionally well."

John Carney, who spent 24 seasons kicking for several NFL teams and now runs a kicking camp of his own, also used a golf analogy to assess Tucker's technique. He said Tucker is tall (6-foot-1) and has long legs - or a long lever, in kicking parlance - and he knows how to use that to kick the ball far and with accuracy.

“That’s why the longest club in our golf bag is a driver - that’s the one that hits the ball the furthest," Carney said. “A long-ball hitter that can also be so deadly accurate - you don’t find that combination too often.”

Carney also pointed out that Tucker takes a wide approach from his start point - a technique that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s but fell out of favor in the 1990s as kickers began to come at the ball from a narrower angle to increase accuracy.

“Being wide allows you to get a lot of turn on the ball, you get a lot of hip and turn and rotation, which translates into power," Carney said.

Carney said Tucker - like many of the best kickers - uses his core strength by keeping his core engaged and involved as he connects with the ball, which helps him accelerate through the kick.

Kohl, who's now in his third year with the Bears, said Tucker also has exceptional coordination and body control, which allows him to do a lot of things Kohl wouldn't teach to younger kickers.

"He just approaches the ball with more velocity and more speed," Kohl said. "Most of the time if you teach younger players to do that they lose their consistency. He's getting good angles on the ball, and quite frankly, the way the ball jumps off his foot, and the way he's able to control it is what's different."

Kohl said because of that superior body control, Tucker is able to practice more kicks in the 65- to 70-yard range than every other kicker combined.

"If a normal NFL kicker practices a lot of those longer kicks, it almost works against him because he's changing his swing," Kohl said. "He's not coordinated enough to just get it together for the ones you need to make."

Indeed, Tucker acknowledged he approached his 66-yard record-setter like a kickoff, telling reporters after the game he took an extra step back and used a little crow hop to get more distance into the kick.

"When you're that far away, there's a level of you have to abandon a certain amount of your technique … to gain a little power and use the adrenaline and the feeling of the moment to get the ball to go. I hop into it just a little more aggressively," he said.

Tucker's accuracy is peerless. Per Next Gen Stats, his field-goal percentage over expected (FGPOE) since 2016 is 17.9% - no other kicker in the same span has a FGPOE greater than 12.7%. In addition, according to the NFL's director of data and analytics Michael Lopez, Tucker misses the center of the upright on kicks between 40 and 49 yards by an average of just 1.15 yards - at least a half-yard better than any other kicker.

All of which comes back to that confidence and self-assurance Kohl first noticed all those years ago.

Tucker does benefit from his surroundings in ways other kickers can't. The Ravens are a stable, well-run organization with lots of continuity. Head coach John Harbaugh, who's been in that role since 2008, has an extensive background in coaching special teams. Through 2018, Jerry Rosburg was the only special teams coordinator Tucker had with Baltimore. And current special teams coach Randy Brown has been on Baltimore's special teams staff for as long as Harbaugh's been in charge.

Tucker also had the advantage of having the same battery from the moment he entered the league, with punter Sam Koch serving as holder and Morgan Cox as long snapper, though the Ravens let Cox leave in free agency this past offseason. Nick Moore took over for him this year.

Like every other kicker, Tucker has also benefited from a series of rule changes beginning in 2010 that keep defenders from lining up over the long snapper. The rule treats the long snapper as a defenseless player, preventing defenders from leaping over the offensive line in an attempt to rush the kicker.

Still, though. Tucker's extraordinary accuracy speaks for itself. At 31, the question is how long he can keep it going. Adam Vinatieri, widely regarded as the best kicker of all time, played until he turned 48 last December.

"I think Adam was by far the best kicker to ever do it," Kohl said. "With what Justin is continuing to accomplish, that title could be his."

For now, at least, Tucker is achieving things that didn't seem possible - and setting the bar that much higher for everyone else.

"He’s got every kicker in the country now trying 66-yarders," Carney said.

Tucker wound up going undrafted in 2012 even though four kickers were selected that year. But in that game at Kohl's camp when he made his presence known by challenging Hopkins? Tucker won.

Dom Cosentino is a senior features writer at theScore.