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Kickin’ it with Hale: Alex Hale’s Return to the Top of the Charts
November 16, 2023 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER – Alex Hale is at the top of his game and once again a Lou Groza Award semifinalist. Of the 20 semifinalists this year, he is one of six who is a multi-year semifinalist.
It feels like a long time coming for Hale, who suffered a torn ACL in his planting leg in 2020. That was the other year he was a Groza semifinalist, when at the time of his injury, he No. 2 in the FBS with 2.17 made field goals per game. For OSU, his impact proceeded after his injury as he still finished that season as OSU's leading scorer by 21 points.
Hale said he's long since moved on from his injury and doesn't spend much time thinking about it.
"It's long gone in my mind," Hale said. "I'm back to feeling like my old self."
This year, Hale has returned to form with the goal of becoming the second Cowboy in program history to win the Groza, with the first being Dan Bailey in 2010. Entering the game against Houston, Hale is No. 1 in the FBS with 21 field goals and leads the Big 12 with three kicks over 50 yards and 2.1 field goals per game. He was the Lou Groza Award "Star of the Week" against Kansas State and Kansas, where he made nine field goals in that two-week span.
Hale kicked a career-best 52-yard field goal against Arizona State in the second game of the season. Against Iowa State, Hale would beat that record with a 53-yarder to put the Cowboys within a touchdown. He reached that distance again the next week against Kansas State.
As he's become a reliable option for long-distance kicks, his confidence has risen.
"Anytime we cross the 50-yard line, I get warmed up just in case something happens," Hale said. "You never know, a big play might break out. I'm always ready if I need to be."
Against Kansas State, his 53-yarder was the third of five field goals he made in that game, which tied an OSU program record. Hale's feat had only been done twice prior, once by All-American Quinn Sharp in 2012 and Larry Roach in 1982. On OSU's single season leaderboard, Hale will likely move into the top three in field goals made and attempted in the final two games of the regular season. He's only seven makes and seven attempts away from the top spots. With all the notoriety going his way, Hale has remained humble throughout the process.
"It's nice to get some recognition, but I take it one kick at a time," Hale said.
His success this year hasn't come without patience. After his injury in 2020, Hale entered the 2021 season hoping to get back on track but struggled to return to his former dominance. He lost his starting position to Tanner Brown, who transferred into the program that year and had a strong season. Brown returned to OSU as a super senior in 2022 and became a Groza Award semifinalist in his own right, while Hale served as his backup.
"It's always tough to lose your spot," Hale said. "But I'm always happy to see a great kicker perform as well. He was doing really good and I'm very happy for him. I learned off him, hopefully he learned off me a little bit too. We both got a lot better from that."
Hale did get better. He's already set a career best in terms of field goals made and looks to enter the top 10 in school history in career field goals made. Hale said strength and conditioning coach Rob Glass has helped to push him and the other specialists, and it paid off for them on gamedays. Hale's chemistry with placeholder Wes Pahl and long snapper Zeke Zaragoza has also benefited Hale on the season.
"They're doing a great job," Hale said. "I couldn't be any more confident. Zeke gives good snaps, Wes is a great holder and there's great protection up front. No complaints at all, and I have great confidence in myself."
It's been a long journey to this point for Hale. The Australia-native grew up playing soccer with his brother, Andre, which led him down the football path. Hale followed his brother to California, where he transitioned to kicking. Prior to coming to America, Hale said he had never seen a collegiate or NFL goal post.
He started working with former NFL kicker John Carney and spent several months perfecting his technique. As a newcomer to the sport, Hale had to start from scratch. He said that entailed perfecting one small thing at a time and learning about the mindset required to kick at a competitive level. For him, it came down to something simple.
"You either have it or you don't," Hale said. "There's not much you can learn. It's whether you can focus, block out noise and do your job."
After a year of training, Hale started looking for athletic opportunities at the college level shortly after. When he visited Oklahoma State, he said knew it was where he wanted to be. He walked on to the program in 2018 where he redshirted and got some playing time in 2019. After his breakthrough season in 2020, Hale was awarded a scholarship in the spring of 2021. He picked up an option to become a super senior and returned to the Cowboys for a final season. In his time here, he said he never considered transferring.
"It's a great place to be a specialist here," Hale said. "Coach [Mike] Gundy treats us really well. He understands what we do as specialists, and he respects the work we put in. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Hale and the Cowboys take on Houston this week. He enters the game with 93 points on the season and will look to break the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. He'd become the 19th Cowboy in program history to become a 100-point scorer and the 15th since 2002.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
It feels like a long time coming for Hale, who suffered a torn ACL in his planting leg in 2020. That was the other year he was a Groza semifinalist, when at the time of his injury, he No. 2 in the FBS with 2.17 made field goals per game. For OSU, his impact proceeded after his injury as he still finished that season as OSU's leading scorer by 21 points.
Hale said he's long since moved on from his injury and doesn't spend much time thinking about it.
"It's long gone in my mind," Hale said. "I'm back to feeling like my old self."
This year, Hale has returned to form with the goal of becoming the second Cowboy in program history to win the Groza, with the first being Dan Bailey in 2010. Entering the game against Houston, Hale is No. 1 in the FBS with 21 field goals and leads the Big 12 with three kicks over 50 yards and 2.1 field goals per game. He was the Lou Groza Award "Star of the Week" against Kansas State and Kansas, where he made nine field goals in that two-week span.
Hale kicked a career-best 52-yard field goal against Arizona State in the second game of the season. Against Iowa State, Hale would beat that record with a 53-yarder to put the Cowboys within a touchdown. He reached that distance again the next week against Kansas State.
As he's become a reliable option for long-distance kicks, his confidence has risen.
"Anytime we cross the 50-yard line, I get warmed up just in case something happens," Hale said. "You never know, a big play might break out. I'm always ready if I need to be."
Against Kansas State, his 53-yarder was the third of five field goals he made in that game, which tied an OSU program record. Hale's feat had only been done twice prior, once by All-American Quinn Sharp in 2012 and Larry Roach in 1982. On OSU's single season leaderboard, Hale will likely move into the top three in field goals made and attempted in the final two games of the regular season. He's only seven makes and seven attempts away from the top spots. With all the notoriety going his way, Hale has remained humble throughout the process.
"It's nice to get some recognition, but I take it one kick at a time," Hale said.
His success this year hasn't come without patience. After his injury in 2020, Hale entered the 2021 season hoping to get back on track but struggled to return to his former dominance. He lost his starting position to Tanner Brown, who transferred into the program that year and had a strong season. Brown returned to OSU as a super senior in 2022 and became a Groza Award semifinalist in his own right, while Hale served as his backup.
"It's always tough to lose your spot," Hale said. "But I'm always happy to see a great kicker perform as well. He was doing really good and I'm very happy for him. I learned off him, hopefully he learned off me a little bit too. We both got a lot better from that."
Hale did get better. He's already set a career best in terms of field goals made and looks to enter the top 10 in school history in career field goals made. Hale said strength and conditioning coach Rob Glass has helped to push him and the other specialists, and it paid off for them on gamedays. Hale's chemistry with placeholder Wes Pahl and long snapper Zeke Zaragoza has also benefited Hale on the season.
"They're doing a great job," Hale said. "I couldn't be any more confident. Zeke gives good snaps, Wes is a great holder and there's great protection up front. No complaints at all, and I have great confidence in myself."
It's been a long journey to this point for Hale. The Australia-native grew up playing soccer with his brother, Andre, which led him down the football path. Hale followed his brother to California, where he transitioned to kicking. Prior to coming to America, Hale said he had never seen a collegiate or NFL goal post.
He started working with former NFL kicker John Carney and spent several months perfecting his technique. As a newcomer to the sport, Hale had to start from scratch. He said that entailed perfecting one small thing at a time and learning about the mindset required to kick at a competitive level. For him, it came down to something simple.
"You either have it or you don't," Hale said. "There's not much you can learn. It's whether you can focus, block out noise and do your job."
After a year of training, Hale started looking for athletic opportunities at the college level shortly after. When he visited Oklahoma State, he said knew it was where he wanted to be. He walked on to the program in 2018 where he redshirted and got some playing time in 2019. After his breakthrough season in 2020, Hale was awarded a scholarship in the spring of 2021. He picked up an option to become a super senior and returned to the Cowboys for a final season. In his time here, he said he never considered transferring.
"It's a great place to be a specialist here," Hale said. "Coach [Mike] Gundy treats us really well. He understands what we do as specialists, and he respects the work we put in. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Hale and the Cowboys take on Houston this week. He enters the game with 93 points on the season and will look to break the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. He'd become the 19th Cowboy in program history to become a 100-point scorer and the 15th since 2002.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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