He was shanking kicks long before his foot struck the ball.
UCLA freshman J.J. Molson obsessed about his next field-goal attempt as he stood on the sideline early in training camp, an approach that didn’t jibe with his easygoing nature or boost his accuracy.
Then someone helped devise a new strategy. Molson would chitchat with teammates about their plans for that night or what they wanted for dinner while waiting to kick. Any topic worked as long as it wasn’t related to football.
Only when Molson jogged onto the field did his focus shift to kicking and two recurring thoughts: head down, follow through.