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Who knows, maybe in four years?
Becca Longo. It is a name we might want to remember in the near future. Right now the Minnesota Vikings are having a true competition in camp for the kicking spot, and today at minicamp was no different. Both Kai Forbath and Marshall Koehn were reported to go 5 for 5 today on their kicks. This story isn’t about them however, it is about Becca Longo, the first ever young lady to get a college scholarship to play football.
What she has in common with Forbath and Koehn is that she is a kicker, and a pretty good one at that. Today a story was published by Bleacher Report and has even hit the Drudge Report front page about this young lady from Arizona, her skill, drive, and desire to be an outstanding kicker.
About a dozen women have played college football at various levels. In 1997 Liz Heaston became the first female to score in a college football game when she kicked an extra point for Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, then an NAIA school. But it's safe to say that no female kicker has ever possessed the pure ability of the 5'11,'' 145-pound Longo, who has kicked a 50-yard field goal in practice and routinely splits the uprights from 45.
Who knows, she has an outstanding personal coach and a very supportive father combined with talent, that she might even make the NFL someday. [Make sure you check out the video!]
I highly encourage you to read this wonderful story of this marvelous young lady who loves the sport just as much as we do. As a father of three beautiful young ladies myself, one of which who played football until she was outsized by the boys, and all three of which love the game, there’s nothing more rewarding than sharing your Sundays on the couch or on the phone talking Vikings football.
This is a great story, just like the one earlier in the week about Kelly Kleine being promoted by the Vikings to be the College Scouting Coordinator posted by Chris. We may be reading in four years that the Vikings have another female first. I wish Miss Longo all the luck and look forward to tracking her career.