PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Plymouth High’s Owen Plate is chasing a dream he never would have imagined three years ago – kicking at the college level.
With interest from both Notre Dame and Wisconsin, there’s big things afoot for the senior kicker.
Had a great game day visit at @BadgerFootball, thank you for the invite!@Rymiszewski17 pic.twitter.com/tEs4dKfpSV
— Owen Plate (@owen_plate2) September 17, 2023
Considered the No. 1 ranked specialist in the state, Plate shared he never intended to play football.
He was known to have a powerful leg on the Plymouth soccer team, which is why his friends urged him to join the school's football team.
“After my freshman year of high school, my friends were talking to me and they're like, we need a kicker for next year," Plate recalled. "I talked to Coach [Dan] Knaus, and I came to a practice.”
“We just said, all right, show us a kickoff, show us a field goal," Knaus added. "As soon as he did that, we were kind of like, you can come back. You're pretty good.”
In just two seasons, the five-star recruit rewrote the Panthers history books with a 52-yard field goal against Kettle Moraine Lutheran.
52 yard field goal into wind tonight during a big win against KML.@Plymouth_FB @CoachCKohls @KohlsKicking @KohlsHighlights pic.twitter.com/Wi0JzutPgd
— Owen Plate (@owen_plate2) October 15, 2022
Plate has booted a 65-yard field goal in practice, but he believes his biggest strength is on kickoffs.
The senior shared his kickoffs average around 75 yards and have a hang time between 4 to 4.3 seconds.
“He's over 80 percent on touchbacks, which is unbelievable, and just a great weapon to have as a football coach," Knaus said.
Plate spent the summer attending different kicking camps across the country, including one at the University of Wisconsin.
The Badgers invited him for a Game Day visit on Sept. 16 when Wisconsin hosted Georgia Southern.
"The goal is to play at the next level, hopefully at a big power five school," Plate shared. "That would be the goal. I would love to play somewhere close to here, so my friends and family can of course watch."
"I think whoever takes him will get a great kid number one," Knaus smiled. "Then they'll also get a kid with a ceiling that's unbelievable because he's got so much more to learn and his leg is just a bomb.”
Plate has a big week ahead of him with playoffs starting for both soccer and football.
The striker will first suit up for the Panthers soccer team on Thursday against the winner of No. 15 Winneconne and No. 18 Little Chute.
Plymouth Football will then host Menasha Friday night in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
