Prott signs to kick for McKendree Bearcats

Highland High School senior Elliott Prott recently signed a national letter of to placekick and punt for the Mckendree University football Bearcats.

Prott said Highland Bulldogs special teams coach Steve Lanxon told McKendree head football coach Mike Babcock about Prott and they became interested in him.

“I was thrilled to hear that they were interested in my kicking only after playing football for two years,” Prott said. “I love how McKendree is close to home and also so convenient.”

Prott received a few other offers for baseball, football, or both, but he said McKendree was the right choice for him because of how close it was, in addition to having the sports and academics he wanted. Notably, McKendree’s accounting program really appealed to Prott because his goal is to become a CPA some day.

As an incoming freshman, Prott knows that he will have to put in more work to get playing time with the upperclassmen playing now.

“My work ethic and attitude of being held responsible for what I do will help me stand out amongst the team,” he said. “My goals are to obtain the starting job as the kicker/punter while also hitting the books and coming out of McKendree with an accounting degree and a lot of wins under my belt.”

As a senior for the Bulldogs this past fall, Prott scored 86 points three field goals and 77 extra points. His longest field goal was a 48-yarder in a 68-24 home victory over Waterloo on Oct. 6. He also had a 43-yard field goal in a 45-0 home playoff win over Quincy Notre Dame on Oct. 27.

Prott also average 47.34 yards on kickoff and 37.58 yards on punts.

This story was originally published February 12, 2018 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Prott signs to kick for McKendree Bearcats."