NFL Hall of Famer Lou Groza once said, "Old place-kickers never die, they just go on missing the point."

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about kickers and their importance to the game.

There has been a song written by Adam Sandler about the ups and downs of a kicker titled "The Lonely Kicker."

ESPN's mans-man Sean Salisbury said there is no place or use for kickers in today's game. He even said they were not real athletes.

This comes from a guy that threw just as many interceptions as he did touchdowns.

But is this true? Is there too much credit given to kickers when they hit a game winning field goal? Is there too much blame put on kickers when they miss?

"A kicker is a hero one day and a villain the next," said Cullman football coach Mark Britton. "My kicker (John Nyquist) is very level headed, and we have talked about it. We don't lose confidence in him. If your quarterback throws an interception you don't stop throwing the football. It's the same for a kicker."

Cullman's John Nyquist is hoping to sign a scholarship to kick at the collegiate level and I think he secretly wants to play for an SEC school.

Who wouldn't want to kick at Death Valley in front of 92,000 people?

"It would be crazy to kick in Death Valley," Nyquist said. "There are so many fans, it would just be crazy."

What most people don't realize, kickers are not always just given scholarships. They earn them every day.

Former Cullman and Alabama kicker Brian Bostick was an All-SEC kicker his senior season. What most people don't know is that he started his career as a walk on and earned his scholarship.

For Nyquist the future is still uncertain, but he has the potential to be signed out of high school. Some schools sign kickers and place more importance on the position and some don't. The same is true for NFL programs.

Auburn, which is interested in Nyquist, has been known to give up a scholarship to a kicker, and Mississippi State has declared it intends to sign a kicker this season.

At the pro level, the Dallas Cowboys are a good focal point.

After signing no name kickers and trying to maximize their potential, Bill Parcels and his staff realized there is more importance placed in today's kicking game.

The Cowboys then signed loud-mouthed Mike Vanderjagt this offseason to get the job done.

But at the high school level, what do coaches really do?

"We look at it as whatever he can do for us point wise," Britton said. "The offense needs to score and we can't do anything, whatever the kicker can help us with is a plus."

Chances are, the reason the kicker is lining up for the field goal is that someone else didn't execute. Whether it was a dropped pass or a missed block.

"I think you need special teams guys," Britton said. "You don't miss them until you don't have them and we have been fortunate to have some great guys out there."

Don't get me wrong, the life of a kicker can be wealthy if you win. Former Auburn kicker Damon Duval claimed that he slept with double digit number of women the night he hit the game-winning kick against Florida when all the fans rushed the field and tore down the goal posts.

It can also be a very poor life if you miss.

My junior year of high school our football team scored with just seconds left on the clock, bringing the score to 14-13. Our kicker missed the extra point and didn't come to school for two weeks.

When he came back, he was met with the new nickname Avery Finkle, in honor of the movie Ace Ventura.

So with the kicking position being so fickle, how does a kicker keep his composure out on the field.

"I just try to relax," Nyquist said. "I just pick out a point where I want the ball to go and where I want to plant my foot and where I want to make contact with the ball. That is all I think about."

Nyquist is able to do that because his coaching staff doesn't put to much emphasis on the position or the kick. They have a "We should have scored a touchdown anyway" philosophy.

"All coaches have their own philosophies," Britton said. "I am not saying I'm right, and they are wrong, and I am not saying my way is better, but it's mine."

Maybe that is all kickers need — just a little less pressure.

Either way, kickers are going to be the topic of conversation around water coolers on Monday no matter what. It's all because you have John Vaughns that miss kicks and Vanderjagts that run their mouth.

So here's to you mister two-bar helmet place kicker — and keep it between the uprights.