New LSU kicker Cole Tracy getting the lay of the Tiger land
Cole Tracy finds time almost every day to venture out the tunnel into Tiger Stadium.
The new LSU kicker will eat lunch, survey the open field, wander around its perimeter and just imagine the 102,321 roaring fans now just weeks away.
Tracy, a transfer from small, Division-II Assumption College, has never played anywhere like this before.
But he wants to be as prepared as possible when that moment comes.
"I'm just trying to get a feel for a new environment," he said. "This is something I even did at Assumption on however you want to describe our field. It's just something that's part of my routine, something I always do. I want to make sure I get a lay of the land. I'm very thorough in my process.
"I never want to step into a new environment that I'm not used to or at least have an idea of."
The process worked out well at the 2,500-student, Catholic liberal arts school in Worcester, Mass.
An 18-year-old Tracy ventured 3,000 miles from his home on the western edge of the Los Angeles area.
"The thing that I wanted to do was I wanted to go where I was wanted," he said. "I was getting recruited by a few other schools, but that was the one that stood out to me. I felt the personal connection. I felt the desire for a kicker."
Tracy hit 58 of his 74 field goals (78.4 percent) during three seasons, including 27-of-29 with a career-long 53-yarder in 2017.
His 27 field goals and 93.1 percent success rate led Division II and he converted all 67 of his extra-point attempts, en route to the Fred Mitchell Award presented annually to the best placekicker in FCS, Division II, Division III or NJCAA competition.
That trophy returned with his family to southern California when its recipient headed to Louisiana for the first time.
"My years before are the years before," he said. "I'm really just focused on today's practice and tomorrow's practice and the day after that."
He feels his cross-country trip to Assumption College, so far from home, helped prepare him for this next challenges — adjusting to a new climate and culture, the food and the local golf courses, and to kicking in the SEC.
The Tigers' returning kickers, sophomore Connor Culp and junior Jack Gonsoulin, battled through a rollercoaster 2017 in which they hit just 16 of 27 fields goals (59.3 percent) and 40 of 43 extra points (93.0 percent).
But Tracy isn' taking anything for granted and said he feels "very fortunate to be in this position."
"I came in here for an opportunity to compete and play the best that I can," he said. "Yesterday was the first day. I was describing it to my mom as kind of the first day of school or you're the new transfer kid that walked in, but it's been fun. I'm excited about fall camp. I'm excited about practice today and tomorrow and so on."
That being said, LSU coach Ed Orgeron has been undeniably enthusiastic to have Tracy on campus — a support that likely resonates.
"You'll be glad to know we've got a new kicker," he said Wednesday at a Rotary Club meeting, pausing to allow the fans in attendance to cheer.
Three days later, Tracy's name was the first Orgeron mentioned after the Tigers' first fall practice.
"Cole Tracy was 5-for-5 for field goals, with a longest of 42," the coach said almost immediately, adding, "(Special teams) coach (Greg McMahon) told me Cole Tracy made every one of his field goals in practice today, so that's good news."
That success at the team's practice facility are just a part of the process toward achieving bigger goals, though.
Tracy is putting in the work behind the scenes, getting comfortable with his new surroundings, to help prepare him for the bigger moments that await in his favorite lunch spot.
"I think (a game-winning field goal attempt) is everything a kicker dreams about, regardless of what kind of field it is," he said. "The main thing is kind of just focusing on what you do, so it doesn't necessarily matter what's around you ... I think kicking's very mental, so if I can prepare myself as much as possible, so I feel like I can be able to have the most success."