FORT COLLINS, Colo. — CSU’s Jordan Noyes is one of the country’s best place kickers. With an 82.4 field goal percentage, he ranks 33rd out of 118 total players.
When family friend Matt Gay, a five-year NFL Kicker (who is currently with the Indianapolis Colts), helped the Dartford, Kent, England native start his career at the University of Utah, kicking it through the uprights became natural.
“It’s pretty special,” said Noyes. “It's a feeling you get often playing soccer back home because I used to score a lot of goals so it’s a feeling I can relate to. Yeah I don’t take it for granted that’s for sure.”
Noyes isn’t your typical college kicker though. At 31 years old, he is the third oldest player in the country.
“I don’t think about it. When you’re really with a bunch of 20 year-olds you kind of mold to their age, which is quite funny. It definitely keeps me younger for sure. I still get ID’d which is nice,” Noyes laughed.
Playing Division I football is like a full time job, but Noyes actually has two full-time jobs. Kicker by day, husband and dad by night. He and his wife, Jordan, have a daughter and a set of twin girls.
“They[the team] ask me all the time about the kids, it’s quite funny. They ask me questions about my wife, what it’s like to be married. My age is a big one obviously because I’m old apparently,” Noyes smiled.
Gamedays with the Noyes family, as the Brits would say, can be mad. “I don’t normally bring them [the twins] says Jordan’s wife, Jordan. “So I usually only bring Scotty because she’s older, she’s a bit more obedient, she’s calmer than the twins. Yeah it’s fun. The moment he goes off and you’re like ‘oh it’s dad’ they get so excited and they run down.”
Playing in front of your kids is special, “Seeing their little faces, it gives me all the motivation,” says Noyes.
It’s a game filled with family love and … stress, at least for the wife!
“When we’re doing the game winning field goal, I don’t breathe, and I’m in a fat burn on my apple watch so that’s fun. But no, for the most part, it’s just excitement.”
Jordan is grateful for his wife’s help, “It’s all her. Without her I wouldn’t be able to do any of this. I try to do my bit when I get home. As soon as the kids go down I’m in bed, because we’ve got early mornings.”
Those early mornings won’t last forever, but memories of raising a family 4,000 miles away from home, while playing American football, will for both Jordan and Jordan.
“Unbelievable. Like wasn’t expected, wasn’t planned, wasn’t ever something we spoke about.”
“I guess we’ll look back a bit, back at it, and say ‘how did we do it? Can’t believe we did it.”
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