Former NFL kicker Morten Andersen believes that it is ‘ludicrous’ to think that Harry Kane could make a seamless transition from football to American Football.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker has previously stated his desire to try his hand at becoming a place kicker in the NFL towards the end of his professional football career (BBC).
Kane is known to be an avid follower of the current Superbowl champions the New England Patriots and even travelled Stateside in February to watch them beat the Los Angeles Rams in the final.
Andersen, who is an NFL hall of famer highlighted that there is more to it than attempting to kick the ball with one of the biggest differences being that he will have to wear a helmet and pads.
The 59-year-old offered to put Kane through his paces to develop him as a kicker for the NFL and believes his transition would help to further elevate the sport in the UK and across the globe.
Andersen told the Daily Mail: “I think he needs to put on a different hat mentally – and firstly, different equipment! Remember, he kicks in shorts and a shirt, not pads and a helmet.
“It changes things, the precision with which you have to deliver the ball under great duress in a very short period of time – the whole timing aspect of it, there’s skill involved.
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“The initial trajectory on the ball, they have a hard time getting the ball up. I’m not saying Harry Kane can’t do it, and I don’t think it’s ridiculous – but before we start crowning him as the greatest kicker in the world, let’s go through the exercise of vetting that.
“It’s the path of least resistance, ‘I’m a soccer player so I must be a good kicker’. But they are in for a rude awakening when they delve into the position as there is more to it than meets the eye. If it was that easy, why hasn’t it been done by somebody yet?
“With Harry Kane, if he wants to be legit on this then awesome, but you can’t tell me Harry Kane knows the intricacies of being an NFL kicker much like I don’t know about being a Premier League soccer player.
“It is ludicrous to think you can just step in and do it at that level. I want the fans to understand that I don’t feel disrespected, but there is more to it than meets the eye.
“Let’s vet it – I’ll take him to a training camp in the off-season! I don’t know what kind of coaching he would want, but I would recommend that if he is serious about it, get hold of me as someone who has done it for a long time. Let’s keep it real, I’ll give him a straight shot.
“I’m not debating he doesn’t have skill, but I don’t think it’s fair to say that Harry Kane can just insert himself as a bona fide NFL kicker – there is more to it, he has to earn that just like we earned it.
“I hope I don’t sound disgruntled, I’m all for it, it would be great for the game, the UK and the globalisation of the game. So let me take him and work with him.”
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