Former Michigan Wolverines placekicker Quinn Nordin will take part in the team’s pro day on Friday after five years in Ann Arbor that saw him go 42 of 58, including a 57 yard bomb in the Citrus Bowl against Alabama.
He’s got his sights set on the NFL, and is taking the confidence he’s built within himself moving forward.
“To think that we would even be doing this, how cool,” Nordin said. “So, I’m soaking it up. I mean, never in a million years would I have thought that I’d have even a halfway decent college career, so I’m so thankful, but now I’m definitely not gonna say I don’t expect to get a shot and roll the dice.”
Of course, Nordin had previously gained national attention when he hosted coach Jim Harbaugh for a sleepover at his house on a recruiting trip in 2016.
“I’ve been networking down here with some people,” Nordin said, “and I’m out, and some guy says, ‘You kicked at Michigan? Wow, cool.’ And then he’s like, ‘Didn’t Harbaugh sleep over your house?”
His career thus far hasn’t been without adversity. He was replaced in 2018 by freshman Jake Moody, and also dealt with injuries last season that saw him convert only 2 of 5 attempts.
“I finished 10-of-10 (in 2019), and I had gone 0-for 3 with misses from 58, 55 and 36, and I got benched, Nordin said. “And I think that was another great experience. It was another obstacle I had to overcome. It was like ’18 when they benched me, I got hurt and then I never saw the field again. So it’s kind of like a never-ending thing. But the ups and downs have really made me who I am today.”
“And the kind of the adversity you could say that happened this year (with the COVID-19 situation), I was more than ready for it. And I was in the right headspace through it all. I wouldn’t have changed any of it for anything. And how this year ended, I think it put me in an even better headspace, because I’m just so much hungrier now. Going into the season, I was the top dog, I was the No. 1 guy and I chose to stay and I chose to play knowing I didn’t have my fifth-year senior long snapper. But that didn’t matter to me. I was gonna be there with the guys, and I was lucky enough to be a captain and that was that was so important to me to be able to be a part of one last Michigan season and get the young guys through the craziness regardless of the outcome.”
Naturally, the ideal scenario would be for Nordin to end up wearing the Honolulu blue of the Detroit Lions, the team he grew up cheering for:
UM kicker Quinn Nordin says on pro day Zoom that kicking for the Lions “would be the dream…to get to play in front of my family would be pretty cool”
— angelique (@chengelis) March 24, 2021
– – Quotes via Angelique Chengelis of The Detroit News Link – –
