'09 JUCO K Derek Helton (LSU Verbal)

[GoRU]

'09 JUCO K Derek Helton



Kicker
Fort Scott (KS) Fort Scott C.C.

Ht: 6-foot-2
Wt: 170 lbs
Class: 2009 (Junior College)

LSU loses Benton, gains a punter - Sports - NOLA.com

Derek Helton of Fort Scott, Kan., Community College became LSU's 16th commitment on Thursday during an unofficial visit to the Baton Rouge campus. Helton is regarded as one of the nation's top junior college punters and will enroll in LSU in January following a December graduation from Fort Scott.

Helton said he toured LSU's campus and accepted Coach Les Miles' scholarship offer in person after being driven to Baton Rouge on Wednesday by Fort Scott Coach Jeff Sims. The visit included two 12-hour rides round-trip.

Helton, 6-feet, 175 pounds, recently earned MVP Punter honors at the prestigious Chris Sailer Elite Kicking Camp staged in Burbank, Calif. Helton also had an official offer from Colorado State and drew interest from Tennessee, Nebraska and Oregon.

"It's kind of a ridiculous story,'' Helton said, referring to his background. He has only been punting for approximately three years and did not play high school football as a freshman or sophomore. The Hoyt, Kan., native attended Fort Scott and continued punting at the request of his parents, who were seeking an alternate means to finance his education. "I kind of underestimated myself. This is huge for me and my family. (LSU coaches) are expecting me to start if I keep doing what I've been doing.''

As a Fort Scott freshman, Helton averaged 35.6 yards on 69 punts with none blocked and a long of 64. Helton excelled at booming high punts and directional kicking, Sims said.

"Derek basically came out of no where,'' Sims said. "He came here and he began developing.'' Although he did not earn All-Conference or All-American honors, Sims said, "Typically, those things go by statistics, like how many yards you average per kick. But that's now what coaches look at. Coaches look at hang time. Coaches look at accuracy. Coaches look at directional punting. When he kicks it in the SEC, he's never going to kick it straight down the field. Derek could kick it 60 or 70 yards straight down the field if I asked him to. What LSU is specifically excited about is his hang time. With the athletes they have down there at LSU, they'll be able to get down field and cover it.''

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