Former standout EHS kicker creating his own legacy at Jax State

Cade Stinnett followed his father’s legacy of first being an all-state field goal kicker at Enterprise High School and then again for Jacksonville State University, but with every game-winning kick he boots he is forging his own legacy.

Field goal kicking is a family tradition for the Stinnett household. Cade Stinnett’s father, Slade, and brother, Parker, were both all-state kickers at Enterprise High, as was Cade Stinnett himself.

Slade Stinnett was also a record-setting field goal kicker for the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, where he kicked for the Gamecocks during their 1992 Division II National Championship run. He also holds the school record for extra points made in a career and is third in school history in scoring and second in school history in field goals made.

Parker Stinnett walked-on at Alabama and was a member of the 2011 National Championship team, too.

After earning all-state honors for the second time, and drilling last-second field goals in both of Enterprise’s playoff games his senior season, Cade Stinnett decided to follow in his father’s footsteps at Jacksonville State.

“I would say it was more of an excitement than anything when I chose to come to JSU,” Cade Stinnett said of his decision. “I thought it would be cool to play where (my father) did but I wanted to go there and make a name for myself rather than carry on what he did, and he has told me that’s what he wanted for me, too.”

Create his own legacy, he did. As a redshirt sophomore in 2016, Cade Stinnett took over the primary placekicker duties.

For the season, he converted 12-of-19 field goal attempts and 37-of-43 extra points, and he was named Ohio Valley Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 30, 2016 after booting two field goals, five extra points and even averaging 42.0 yards per punt during the Gamecocks win over Eastern Illinois.

Slade Stinnett has been a constant source of motivation and support for his son during his football career.

“He’s been very supportive in everything I do, especially playing football at his alma mater,” Cade Stinnett said of his father. “It’s really exciting for him to see me go out and do well, that’s really what he enjoys.”

The biggest difference for Cade Stinnett between high school and college was being mentally prepared, according to him.

“Probably the biggest transition from high school to college, for me, was the mindset,” he emphasized. “I say that because in high school you may have a team of 100 guys but only half of them are good enough to play or eventually play, whereas in college everyone there was selected by the coaches to play at the next level because they believe in you to help win football games.

“So, it felt like I really needed to focus, keep my head on straight and at least double my workload going from high school to college.”

Cade Stinnett pointed to Enterprise High School’s strength and conditioning program as a big factor in getting him prepared for the college game.

“Playing at Enterprise helped me in a lot of ways,” he said. “Like the way we ran our offseason weights and condition and playing in such a big high school environment that would be plenty for most schools at the FCS level.”

After earning the No. 1 kicking duties as a sophomore, Cade Stinnett wasn’t surprised at all but he was excited nonetheless.

“It just showed me that hard work and patience pays off if you just keep grinding,” he said. “I wasn’t really shocked but at the same time I was excited to be told that I had that spot.

“That’s what I was expecting of myself and to achieve that was a very satisfying feeling.”

In both his high school and college careers, Cade Stinnett has become known for hitting clutch field goals.

“I would like to say I perform well in high pressure situations,” he said. “I get the thought in my head that it’s ‘Make it or go home,’ and I have to tell myself that I don’t want to go home.

“To actually make one of those kicks is exhilarating. The rush of excitement and adrenaline that you get swept up by in such a short amount of time is something that you have to experience to appreciate.”

In 2017, Stinnett led the Gamecock special teams once again, converting 13-of-18 field goals and 38-of-40 extra points.

Unfortunately, Jacksonville State lost in the second round of the FCS Playoffs this past Saturday 17-7 against Kennesaw State and Cade Stinnett didn’t get a chance to go for yet another game-winner.

Despite the disappointment of the loss, he’s already looking toward his senior season and focusing on improving himself.

“The one thing our position coach tells us religiously is ‘Find a way to be better tomorrow than you were today,’” he said. “So, that would be my goal for the offseason and my senior season, to just find a way to improve on something each day, whether it be hitting a farther field goal, higher kickoff or even getting more flexible.

“There is always something that can be improved, even when you think you are at your best.”