2021 Gilbert Christian kicker Jace Feely joins hometown Sun Devils
It’s been a whirlwind of a week for local 2021 Gilbert Christian kicker Jace Feely. Earlier in the week, he declared that he was joining Oregon, but just a day later, after consulting with his father and 15-year NFL kicker, Jay Feely, he decided to join ASU as a preferred walk-on and will enroll in classes starting March 8th and participate at all spring practice following that date.
“I got the offer from Oregon, and I committed,” Feely said, “It was a spur of the moment decision. But then me and my dad went back and talked about it more. He wanted this to be my own decision but wanted to also have some input. After sitting down and talking about it for a while, we decided that ASU was going to be a better decision long term with (head coach) Herm Edwards and (special teams coach) coach Shawn Slocum. I was talking equally to both schools for the last few months, and in the end, I decided to go with ASU because of coach Slocum.
“We always kept in touch for a long time, and he brings a lot of credibility coaching in the NFL and coaching kickers at ASU like Zane Gonzales, who is now in the NFL. He’s a great guy and a great coach. He knows exactly what he's talking about when it comes to special teams, and you can’t say the same about a lot of other special teams coaches. He knows and cares a lot about that position, and he will be the best coach for me.”
Feely, who said he looks up to All-Pro Justin Tucker, reported a career-high 52-yard field goal during his high school career and said that in practice, he has successfully converted kicks from as far as 66 yards. As a senior, the 6-1 185-pound Feely also averaged 42.8 yards punting and posted 66 tackles, including six sack as well as seven forced fumbles, and five recovered fumbles. Feely also converted 22-23 extra points in 2020.
The website chrissailerkicking.com which is considered to top authority in evaluating high school kickers and punters offered this evaluation of Feely, who is ranked no. 13 among the 2021 kickers.
Jace is a fantastic high school kicking prospect. He is a great looking athlete with a live leg. Jace does an outstanding job on field goal. He hits a clean ball off the ground and easily has 55+ yard range. He is smooth and accurate. His kickoffs are D1 ready. Jace drives the ball 70+ yards, with 4.0+ hang time. He is a gamer that kicks with confidence. Also a capable punter. I really like his upside. He is a fine young man that is a pleasure to work with. Jace has all the tools to dominate the next level.
Feely. Who has a chance to earn a scholarship from ASU in spring of 2022, said that he had some certain aspects that helped guide him into the decision to stay close to home.
“It was a pretty quick process,” Feely commented. “I was trying to get into a school early, and with ASU, I can do that starting March 8th. My dad told me it’s huge to get to school as early as possible especially being able to be part of spring practice. That’s such an advantage, and get a jump start on the guys coming in here in the summer. There are only young players competing for the kicker spot, so that was appealing to.
“Coach Slocum wants me to work my hardest and strive for my goals, which are to be the best kicker I can at ASU and hopefully kick at the next level too. I know that when I come in here, I will be working my butt off. I know there’s an opportunity for me to win a starting position, so hopefully, I can do that.”