Will Johnson found playing safety for a high school football "expansion" team nothing to kick about. He enjoyed it.

This season, the Rudder junior should find more safety when he's kicking.

The multitalented Johnson is also the Rangers' place-kicker, hitting a pair of field goals and four extra points last season. Part of the first class of Rangers who played varsity football as sophomores last year, Johnson's kicking was often an adventure.

"We were not as big as they were with our blocking, so you've got to try to get [the kick] off quickly," Johnson said. "Our kicking game is good and this year we'll have more opportunities."

His head coach, C.M. Pier, agrees.

"Will possesses a lot of skill from a DB (defensive back) standpoint and helps us out at receiver, but his big thing is kicking that ball," Pier said. "Hopefully, that's going to come into play for us. For just what we have been doing in the last few days, it looks pretty promising."

"Last year, we were just so young," Johnson said. "It was tough playing against all those seniors and juniors who had a lot more experience and were bigger. We are a lot more mature now. We've grown a lot, gotten a lot bigger, stronger and faster."

Off-season work in the weight room has helped in that respect, but Johnson has always had a strong leg and a smooth stroke with his kicks. Rudder employed a pooch kick on its kickoffs last year, but he's hoping he will be allowed to kick deep this season.

"Pooch kicking is OK, but I'm pretty comfortable that I can kick it out of the end zone," Johnson said.

With his kicking range, Johnson thinks he can provide a boost to the Rangers' offense.

"I want a 50 or plus-yarder [field goal] this year," Johnson said.

An improved kicking game would give Rudder a leg up on most of their opponents. Punter Kyle Danford averaged 42.2 yards per try last year.

"I think we have one of the top kicking games in 3A football this year," said Johnson, who can also punt. When Danford was hurt, Johnson average 43 yards on his three punts.

If the kicking game was restricted by the Rangers' youth, Johnson found steady work at the safety spot. He was the last line of defense on a team that struggled to stop the running game, and he responded with a team-high 39 tackles from that spot.

"You've just got to know what you are doing at the position," Johnson said. "You watch people on the line to see if they are going to drop back for a pass, or they are blocking over for a run or something. You've got to be looking in the backfield to see who they are handing off to.

"And some of those old boys are pretty big. You've got to go low."

Pier says that Johnson was one of the first pieces in the defensive puzzle.

"He's our free safety and when you build your defense, you start from the top down," Pier said. "You've got to have a free safety and you've got to have two good ends. The rest of it you fill in. That's the way I've always believed in doing it."

Johnson saw time on offense, too, playing receiver. He had just four catches, but they covered 72 yard, including a 49-yard longest play. Only Domonique Robison's 51-yarder was a longer reception for Rudder last season.

"It was pretty exhausting playing safety and receiver, too," Johnson said. "It will wear you out."

He's stronger now, vastly more experienced and is convinced that a better football team surrounds him. Johnson still plays baseball, as he has since T-ball, but football fever has taken hold.

"In seventh grade, everybody wanted to play football and you don't want to be the odd man out," Johnson said. "I decided to play football and fell in love with the game. Shoot, I love it. I can't get enough of it."