Hinsdale Central’s Micah Drescher was a soccer player before he became one of the top kickers in the country, which isn’t unusual.
But Drescher followed the example set by his older brother Zach, who quit soccer before his senior year in 2018 due to asthma concerns, took up kicking instead and then played college football at Dartmouth.
“I made the switch from soccer to football when COVID hit,” Drescher said. “But I guess without my brother having asthma, I might not be playing football.”
Drescher said his older brother’s success motivated him.
“He was an inspiration,” Drescher said. “I wanted to be good like him.”
Hinsdale Central coach Brian Griffin knew that was a possibility.
“He had a similar frame and work ethic as his older brother,” Griffin said. “There was hope and excitement for how Micah would turn out to be. You could see he had talent.”
As a junior last season, Drescher converted 36 of 38 point-after attempts, made 3 of 6 field-goal attempts with a long of 47 yards and averaged 37 yards per punt. But he wasn’t satisfied. So he added 23 pounds of muscle during the offseason.
“I’ve never had a kicker show up for offseason workouts,” Griffin said. “He wanted to get stronger and had great attention to detail on his future goal. Most kickers are on their own island. He made a big jump from his junior year to senior year.”
That became clear over the summer, when the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Drescher committed to Michigan in June, was invited to the 2026 Navy All-American Bowl in July and was named Chris Sailer Kicking’s preseason All-American first-team kicker in August. He made a 67-yard field goal during Sailer’s camp.
Through six games for the Red Devils (4-3) this season, Drescher converted all 24 of his point-after attempts, made 2 of 4 field-goal attempts and averaged 38 yards per punt with a high punt of 60 yards, and all but one of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.
“His kicking is able to flip the football field for us,” Griffin said.
Drescher said he has become “more explosive” on kickoffs.
“You could see the difference in his strength,” Griffin said. “He could always kick it where he needed it to be, but he needed more strength.”
Drescher has impressed Hinsdale Central junior defensive end Tommy Riordan.
“Micah definitely showed his commitment to the team this offseason,” Riordan said. “Micah puts his best effort into every aspect.”
Drescher said he takes pride in his hard work and credits his father, Kurt, for instilling that in him. Kurt Drescher owns a landscaping business.
“Working for my dad in the summer definitely built me as a person,” Micah Drescher said. “Waking up at 5 a.m. and then coming back late at night, that showed me hard work definitely is something that will take you far in life.
“To see my dad and where he’s come from and seeing him become successful is an inspiration. I saw that if I want to be great at something, I have to put in the work.”
Chris Nendick, a Naperville Central graduate and former Northern Illinois standout who trains several NFL kickers, has watched that process unfold since Drescher first worked with him as a 140-pound eighth grader.
“Micah was a raw kid with less athleticism than I’m accustomed to seeing at that age,” Nendick said. “He had length and drive, but he had to work incredibly hard to get to where he is now. He pushed himself to get stronger. He worked his tail off.”
Nendick said Drescher hasn’t reached his full potential yet.
“I think he can do kicking and punting at Michigan,” Nendick said. “I don’t want to limit a 6-3 kid who might project as a punter one day. His biggest skill set and something that will jump-start his college career is his kickoffs. He can navigate the rest from there. He can go with either one. He bombs the ball on Friday nights.”
Drescher, who has also worked with a sports psychologist and a physical therapist, said he’s constantly pushing himself.
“This offseason I took it a lot more seriously,” he said. “I had to hold myself to a higher standard. I’m proud of my consistency and hard work. It wasn’t easy to do it every single week and worry about recovery and also getting stronger. It took up a huge part of my life. It was all worth it, though.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.