"There's no question he's a good kicker. He's got the ability to be very good," head coach Frank Beamer said about Giles High School senior kicker Cody Journell.
Good enough for Beamer to make him the only kicker at Virginia Tech offered a full ride scholarship.
"It's a great honor," Journell said. "I grew up watching Shayne Graham and Brandon Pace, and knowing he (Beamer) sees something in me that he's seen in them is really an honor."
That's positive news for Virginia Tech special teams this upcoming season.
At Tech's annual Maroon-White spring game, onlookers received no sense of security as the Hokies' special teams unit combined to miss an extra point, a field goal, and saw no punt go farther than 40 yards.
A shaky kicking game is not something Tech fans are accustomed to, especially in recent seasons despite the constant turnover.
Since the departure of the reliable Brandon Pace in 2006, Tech has started each new season with a different starting kicker, and the team finds itself in a similar position this year.
With the graduation of last year's starter, Dustin Keys, Tech once again possesses a glaring hole at kicker and an important off-season issue to deal with.
But Hokie fans can take comfort in the fact that the Hokies' opening day kicker may not have even been at the scrimmage and has yet to don the maroon and orange.
Journell, at 6 feet and 175 pounds, is biding his time until Tech's summer workout sessions where he plans to show off his cannon of a leg and compete with Matt Waldron and Justin Myer for the starting kicker job. His high school coach, Steve Ragsdale, feels that he has the potential to excel at the college level.
"Cody brings so much to the table. He has confidence, a huge leg, and the proper mental ability to take it to the next level," Ragsdale said. "He looks at each kick as an opportunity to prove himself."
Journell is the only Giles High School graduate to receive a Division I scholarship in the history of the school.
The dynamic Journell did not just star as a kicker in high school. He played multiple positions in the defensive secondary and started both ways for the Spartans last season.
"I think playing multiple positions has really helped me become a football player, not just a kicker," Journell said. "I think its made me a harder worker, helped me focus more in practice, and it's boosted my confidence."
Beamer agrees with Journell and he feels as though the extra on-field experience will benefit Cody as he transitions into the college game.
"He's played different positions on the football field and played them well," Beamer said. "I like kickers who have been involved in the offense and defense. I think that helps him."
But that's not to say Journell is guaranteed anything.
Despite the shaky special teams performance at the spring game, past spring games produced similar results, and Beamer is still confident with the kickers Tech has on the roster.
"Waldron's been our most productive kicker and most consistent field goal guy. He's been very consistent," Beamer said. "But we'll give (Journell) a chance to compete. Whoever is the best kicker, the most consistent kicker, will kick for us; for both field goals and kickoffs."
At Giles, Journell demonstrated he could do both.
The senior booted 10 field goals for the Spartans in 2007 including a 54-yarder to tie the score in a game against Blacksburg High School that eventually went to a state-record tying six-overtimes. The Spartans finally prevailed, 46-43.
All the while, Journell put kick-offs out of the back of the end zone on a regular basis.
"He didn't have that many opportunities to make field goals for us," Ragsdale said. "But one thing he was able to do is kick it in or even through the end zone consistently, which was a huge weapon for us."
Journell's rare ability to kick for distance led him to pursue outside coaching from Doug Blevins to further his kicking skills.
Blevins worked as an NFL kicking coach with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, and after he left the Dolphins in 2002, he opened his own kicking consulting business, Doug Blevins Kicking & Punting, Inc.
Blevins has worked with Cody since 2006 and even served as one-time Super Bowl hero Adam Vinatieri's personal tutor.
"Doug has really helped me with my technique as a kicker," Journell said. "He's shown me how I needed to kick from a technical standpoint."
The Abingdon-based Blevins has coached NFL and collegiate kickers alike and believes Journell has the potential to go a long way.
The athletic Journell will have the opportunity to compete for the starting job as a true freshman when the newest group of Tech recruits report to practice in August.