RedHawk Insider: Football Camp Practice No. 7

OXFORD, Ohio— It's Kellan McLaughlin's turn.

Now in his fourth season with Miami Football, the redshirt junior kicker is set to take over the placekicking duties in 2026 after waiting in the wings behind (first) Graham Nicholson and (then) Dom Dzioban over the past three years.

"I've been waiting...now, it's really my time to shine," McLaughlin said after practice this morning.

"I've been sitting behind two very elite kickers. Graham Nicholson obviously won the Lou Groza. Dom Dzioban was First-Team All-MAC two years in a row. So I was absolutely honored to sit behind them and learn.

"But I was eager to get on the field. And this year, with that being my chance, it's really just my time...to prove who I am and what I can do."

Head coach Chuck Martin is hoping McLaughlin can be the next in a long line of successful players at the position for Miami.

"Tough shoes to follow when you go from [Sam] Sloman to Graham to Dom," Martin nodded. "Unbelievably talented guys that were unbelievably great at their job in the moment...it's exciting, but there's also a burden that comes with it.

"Kellan's super talented. And Kellan's been preparing for this for two years. He was trying to beat out Dom last year [in fall camp], even though Dom was all-league. So his mindset has always been right.

"Just like when Sloman left, then Graham jumped in and did it. And then Graham left, and Dom was waiting. [Kellan's] been waiting; obviously, you don't know until you get him out there and put him on the field, but he's super-talented...he's done a great job on kickoff[s]."

Special teams coordinator Johnny Aylward echoed Martin in referencing McLaughlin's kickoff experience with the Red and White as they looked ahead to the opener at Pitt on Sept. 5.

"It's nice for him that he's been our kickoff guy for the last two years," Aylward commented. "So his first time appearing in a game for his first field goal, it won't be his first time on the field."

One of McLaughlin's biggest strengths is his strength, literally. Known for his powerful leg, the Louisville, Ky. native has the ability to change games from basically anywhere in the opponents' half of the field.

"He definitely can go 60 [yards], depending on wind and all that," said Martin. "And there's two things with Kellan: He gets unbelievable height too, not just distance...it's almost impossible to block one of his kicks from in the middle because the ball just rises so quickly."

"Kellan's exciting. Really explosive, really powerful leg," Aylward added.

"He's done a really good job for us...I think with time and reps, he's going to keep getting better."

Miami is scheduled to practice again on Saturday morning, August 15 in Oxford. (RedHawk Insider will return next week.)

Holding practice — *Special teams has been key to Miami's success in the Martin era*

'SPECIAL TEAMS U?': Has the success of Miami's special teams under Martin, especially in the past several seasons, made it easier to recruit talented specialists to Oxford?

"A thousand percent," Martin responded, almost before the final word of the question. "I don't even understand why you wouldn't come here! We have the best 'specs' in the country: They get drafted, they get national awards, they're all-league, and it's important here. We spend a lot of time, and they know they're important...it's more important to us [here]. They're a bigger part of our team because we have so much respect for them.

"So it's probably the easiest position to recruit right now, to be honest with you."

EYEBALL EMOJI: Fifth-year defender Eli Coppess was a standout at practice today, from an interception in the very first team period to a physical hit on tailback Rodney Nelson near the line of scrimmage in the final few minutes.

PLAY OF THE DAY: It was also a good day for wide receiver Carl Jenkins, who made a handful of catches in team periods and produced a beautiful 'stop-start-stop again' move in one-on-one drills to elude a defensive back and get himself open down the field.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Lynel Billups-Williams, Maleek Huggins and Scoop Smith were the three RedHawks working on punt returns during a special teams period this morning, with Martin standing nearby to offer instruction to the trio.

"We were talking about communication," Martin explained later. "There's the long punt – you're just catching and going – but then there's the short punt that's on the ground, there's the one you're going to fair catch...there's all sorts.

"Just [reminding them] how important it is for you to communicate what you're doing to everyone else. There's guys trying to block for you, and they're not looking at you unless you communicate the right way...you're going to know first whether you're gonna return, whether you're gonna fair catch, whether it's on the ground where it could hit somebody.

"You've got to direct traffic then – so it's all about communication."

ABCs: Pierse Stainton, senior punter, jersey no. 34
Get to know a player on the 2026 Miami Football team in their own words.

Attributes and Adjectives: What are three words that describe you as a player or a person?
"I'd say outgoing, energetic, and I'd say caring."

Background Bio: What brought you to Miami? How did you get here?
"I went to the University of South Florida for three years; I didn't have as much playing time as I wanted, so I got into the transfer portal.

"And then, luckily, Coach Aylward and Coach Martin found me. I took the visit here...and the moment I got on campus, I knew that this is the place for me. It was really beautiful. The coaching staff was very welcoming. They made me feel better than any coaches did my entire life. So I just felt like I was home the second I got here.

"Then I earned the job in fall camp last year, had a decent season, and now I'm here just trying to build off of that."

Compare/Contrast: Who do you try and model your game after? "No one, really. Honestly, I feel like [with] every specialist, what's special about them (no pun intended) is that you're your own person. Just like golfing: You can take things from other people, but ultimately, you're still yourself. So I just try to be the best version of that every day.
And what sets you apart from other people at your position?
"I would say the mental side: Just being able to go on the field, clear your mind, and execute. A lot of guys have 60 plays a game. We have six. So, just the importance of each rep."

Drive and Desire: Why do you play the game? What drives you to excel?
"The very first reason is because I grew up as a soccer fan. So, I love the big-stadium atmosphere. My goal was to go to a Division I level where you get that atmosphere. But secondly, once I realized I had a leg that's able to help a big team, that made me feel important. That's honestly what drives me."

External Evaluation: Scouting report from a Miami coach or teammate.
"Live leg...and so dedicated to his craft. All those 'specs' are...but he really got consistent last year...working to be diligent and be consistent at everything he does with his drop and his steps and his footwork, and then getting with the battery to get every rhythm and timing down." -Chuck Martin

Fun Facts: Share one or two interesting things about you that the average fan (or maybe even people on your team) might not know.
"First-generation American. My mom's from Ireland and my dad's from England."

Golf Group: If you could assemble your dream foursome for a day at the golf course (anyone in the world past or present), who would you choose and why?
"We'll go Lionel Messi. LeBron James. Probably Adam Sandler. And I'm the fourth."

HE'S A 'GUY': Stainton found out this morning that he had been named to the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which recognizes the nation's top punter. "It means a lot," Stainton said upon hearing the news. "I think before that kind of stuff happens, it means more. Then once it happens, it becomes like an expectation...it's just [about] what I have done; nothing to do with what I will do."

FINDING TIME AND SPACE: One of the tough things about being a specialist is finding time and space to practice when there are offensive/defensive drills and position group work happening all around you for the majority of a fall camp session.

Sometimes that means punting diagonally from one sideline to the other in between plays of a team period that are snapping at the 30-yard line on the far end of the field.

Other times, it means getting on the practice field before nearly every other teammate to work through reps in a mostly-empty stadium and get off a barrage of kicks on a foggy early morning.

Kicking practice — *For 'specs', it's all about finding time and space to practice*

"There's always some sort of space on the field," Stainton smiled. "If you break down what we do, we're [at] a max radius of 15 yards. So there's always going to be at least 15 yards available on the field for us.

"As long as we have 15 yards, we're good!"

"It's just maximizing the day," said Aylward later. "We'll set a plan based on what we're doing for the whole team and which special teams units are involved and they'll know who's up and running that day. And those are the most important reps for them.

"So their pre-practice and warmup routine will take them into those periods. That's essentially the main event for them of the day, when you have all 11 guys on the field against 11 scout guys and try to simulate as close to in-game reps as we can...

"Then when we do our offense-vs.-defense scrimmage periods at the end and try to simulate some game situations, they're obviously kicking a lot on the front end of practice and there's a big gap in between. So it does a good job of simulating a game, [because] you don't know when your number's going to get called. You just have to be ready to go in that moment."

"What really separates the good from the great is being able to flip that switch," McLaughlin pointed out. "Kobe [Bryant] talks about it all the time: You have two different personalities. You're able to be relaxed...but as soon as your name is called, you can flip that switch and turn it on, get in the zone, get locked in, and be able to execute at a very high level...

"So with all that free time, you've got to find ways to be productive, whether that's stretching, hitting contact, working on visualization, doing strength work – whatever you can do in between to be productive and also supporting and rooting on the team."

For more inside coverage of Miami Athletics, bookmark RedHawk Insider. Miss a fall camp report? Catch up with our daily MiamiRedHawks.com notebooks: Aug. 12 | Aug. 11 | Aug. 8 | Aug. 6 | Aug. 5

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RedHawk Insider: Football Camp Practice No. 7

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Players Mentioned

Lynel Billups-Williams

Eli Coppess

Dom Dzioban

Maleek Huggins

Carl Jenkins

Kellan McLaughlin

Rodney Nelson

Scoop Smith

Pierse Stainton

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