Who says kickers are flakes? This one wants to be a journalist

Kickers are frequently given the flake label because they say and do sometimes strange things. So what should we make of senior Zachary May from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. He says he wants to be a journalist. How crazy is that?

OK, it’s a pretty good job if you work at it and May is just starting out. He missed two days of football practice to complete a two-week on line journalism course through Boston University. He has worked for Notre Dame’s internal television network.

He said he likes investigating and talking, so journalism will hopefully be in his future. The first thing he did was go on line and order reporter notebooks. Not just two or three but 50. That was a mistake, but he sees a positive.

“I guess I’ll have them through college,” he said.

He learned about interviewing, how to write leads and maintaining composure under deadline pressure.

He kept trying to interview a source for a story.

“I really need this interview,” he told the source’s assistant.

His subject kept putting off the interview. His deadline was approaching. Should he move on? Should he wait? Then, near the final day, he got 15 minutes to conduct the interview.

“I love pressure,” he said.

Spoken just like a kicker who wants the chance to make a game-winning field goal.

During the spring season, he had seven touchbacks out of 14 kickoffs. He had three field goals, with a long of 37 yards.

He was back at practice on Wednesday. He’ll be ready to offer good quotes if any sportswriters want to talk to him after a game. And he’ll certainly have an extra reporter’s notebook available if anyone needs a spare.