Previewing Miami kicker commit Abram Murray’s senior season: Concentration, mental focus at forefront

Shreveport (La.) C. E. Byrd three-star Miami kicker commit Abram Murray’s physical traits helped him become a priority target for Power Five programs in the 2024 recruiting cycle, but as he heads into his senior season, his kicking instructor is looking for more than just range and accuracy.

Murray, the No. 3 kicker in the On3 recruiting database and the On3 Industry Ranking, has shown kicking coach Jamie Kohl of Kohl’s Professional Camps similar range to current Hurricanes kicker Andres Borregales and the potential to have an impact once he steps on campus. But Kohl also knows a tremendous portion of the kicking game is the ability to concentrate in intense situations and maintain mental focus.

“I think for a place kicker, once you have the physical tools needed to compete at a high level, then a large part of success comes from consistent performance over time on different days and different situations and having a group of tools you can call upon to adapt to different situations,” Kohl said. “If you play on a rainy night, if it’s real windy, if the field is all tore up, if your snapper is off and how you handle that. How you have to handle a miss in a big situation and come back the next week and be able to block out the noise. When you play a big rival and the game is all hyped up, as often college football games are, how do you handle going to sleep the night before?”

Kohl wants to see Murray continue to develop physically while prepare himself to handle the mental jump from high school to college, where he’ll become a new face in the locker room and “be low on the totem pole” as he find himself surrounded by older, more mature players. Murray has always appeared older and more mature than many of his teammates and physically had the tools to compete at the college level.

Kohl said Murray has previously shown his ability to keep his cool in pressure situations by nailing a 60-yard field goal last season in an “every kick matters” moment, which he said showed Murray’s combination of talent and focus. And, like any young recruit, staying focused on football will remain important.

“As a kicker, he has tremendous upside,” Kohl said.

CaneSport’s Take

Murray’s physical gifts are unmistakable. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound kicker knocked in a 49-yard field goal last season and has impressed on camp circuits throughout his high school career, but improving his mental strength will be equally important this season.

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