His teammates call him Das Boot.
And it’s Jeremy Stein’s powerful kicking leg that’s getting him somewhere.
The recent Carpinteria High graduate with a foot of gold will play his last game as a Warrior on Friday in the Santa Barbara County All-Star Football Classic before transferring to Division-I school Drake University on an academic/athletic scholarship.
Stein figures to be a big weapon for the South All-Stars in the 7:30 p.m. game against the North at Santa Maria High. He averaged nearly 45 yards a punt last season.
“It’s my last time I’ll get to play for Carpinteria,” Stein said. “This is sort of a closing statement for me. Then I’ll start my new chapter.”
Here’s an exclusive Q&A with PresidioSports.com.
PS: Were you always a good kicker, or did you pick it up recently?
Stein: In elementary school, we played kickback. (Basically, a game where each team kicks the ball back and forth to each other). That’s when I started kicking, and I was pretty damn good at it.
Then in high school, the coaches said, “We need a guy who can kick.” I had a pretty strong leg, so I figured I’d give it a try. But I never thought it’d give me a scholarship or anything.”
PS: What’s your farthest boot?
Stein: 74 yards (includes a 14-yard roll) against Morro Bay.
PS: Where is Drake?
Stein: Des Moines, Iowa.
PS: What’s Des Moines, Iowa like?
Stein: City of half a million. Lots of cows, lots of pasture.
PS: Are you excited about leaving paradise for pastureland?
Stein: I actually am. I get this all the time. People are always telling me, “Why leave California?” I want to go somewhere different and experience a different part of the country. If I don’t care for it after four years, I can always come back to California. I look forward to new experiences.
PS: What kind of scholarship are you looking at?
Stein: My scholarship’s half athletic, half academic. It’s a partial scholarship worth about $17,000. The estimated cost of attendance at Drake is around $35,000 a year.
PS: Were you given any offers from anywhere else?
Stein: Navy, Butler, Lehigh University, and a walk-on offer from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Northwestern.
PS: Why none of the above?
Stein: I wanted to go somewhere where I felt the most wanted. All the other schools were really nice but when I met the coaches and some of the players at Drake, I just got the gut feeling that this is the right place for me.
PS: What’s your major?
Stein: Chemistry.
PS: What do you want to do with that?
Stein: I’ve always wanted to help the environment. I think it’s a real important field that’ll be promising in the next 10 years. The environment will be the source of many jobs in the near future. Chemistry will help expand my options.
PS: Passionate about the environment, huh?
Stein: I participate with Carpinteria Beautiful, a local program, that helps with beach clean-ups and landscaping projects here in Carp.
PS: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Stein: I know Drake has great academics. I don’t plan on going to the NFL but if it happens, it happens. But I see myself completing my major, coming back to California, pursuing environmental causes, working with companies or maybe the government to make their operations more eco friendly.
PS: What do you do on your free time?
Stein: I love going to the beach and hanging with the football guys. That’s pretty much what we do in Carp.
PS: Who’s the one football player you look up to?
Stein: I’ve always looked up to my brother, Eric Stein. He sort of set the mark for me to reach. He’s always had a big influence on me.
Note: Eric is currently a junior linebacker for Navy.
PS: Favorite football team?
Stein: The Packers.
PS: What did you think when Brett Favre left the “Big Cheese”?
Stein: I can understand why he left. But I think the Packers organization did the right thing sticking with Aaron Rodgers. He’ll be the future of the team. The Packers did a good job looking at the long-term picture.
PS: What about Favre going to the Vikings?
Stein: I wasn’t cool with that. I was hoping he’d go to any other team. They’re rivals. What he did was pretty much a slap in their face. You just never would have imagined that he’d be playing for them.
PS: Thoughts on the County All-Star game?
Stein: I’m very excited. It’s a great group of guys. We all get along. It’s the guys who really care about football. It’s my last high school game. It’s my last time I’ll get to play for Carpinteria. This is sort of a closing statement for me.
Friday’s game is sponsored by the Santa Barbara Suburban Kiwanis Club.
