University of Illinois junior David Olano is one of the most reliable kickers in the country as a member of the Fighting Illini football team. This Where Are They Now segment is presented by Grow Sports Psychology.
It’s been a rapid rise for the Naperville North alum, who had never worn a helmet and shoulder pads up until just five years ago. Today, the former Husky looks to be next in a growing line of soccer players turned into special teams standouts.
Olano switches from soccer to football
“I think when I first transitioned from soccer to football, I obviously had figured out I was looking at other guys who used to kick in the NFL or in college. And I saw a similarity that most of them started in soccer,” said University of Illinois kicker David Olano. “Even though I might have started a little late on my journey, I knew I was in the right direction of it.”
Olano had played soccer for 12 years before he decided to use his kicking skills for football instead, joining the Naperville North team in the fall of 2021 in his junior year. At the start of the season, he was an unknown to just about everybody, including some of his own teammates, but after drilling a game-winning 42-yard field goal to defeat Metea Valley, his star was suddenly on the rise.
Breaking onto the scene with a game-winner
“That’s probably the biggest moment in my career. Just at the time, I was a super scrawny kid just walking on the field, and like, hey, who’s this guy kicking a field goal? And, you know, in high school, I ended up making it, and it was just like all the reactions afterwards. The way I thought, I was like, holy, this is amazing. Like, you know, I love it!” said Olano.
Some parts of switching from soccer to football came easily, like the physical act of kicking, while other aspects needed more fine-tuning.
“You grow up playing soccer for 12 years, kicking a ball every day like it’s second nature to hit a ball in the sweet spot and to strike it well. So I think when I moved over to kicking, that was the smoothest thing,” said Olano. “I think the hardest thing, adjustment-wise, kicking, after transitioning from soccer, is the rhythm and tempo of kicking and not being too fast, not being too slow. Everything really has a rhythm and, you know, smooth is fast. I was just figuring out the tempo.”
With his strong right leg on display, Division I football scholarship offers began to pour in, and Olano was invited to participate in the U.S Army All-American game in Texas.
Following a successful senior season in which he was named the DVC Special Teams Player of the Year, Olano chose to stay in blue and orange, committing to the University of Illinois, earning immediate playing time as the team’s kickoff specialist during his freshman year.
Sharing success at the next level with the whole Olano family
The experience of kicking for a school so close to home has been a positive one for the whole Olano family.
“It’s been awesome to be able to play for my home state. I think it’s been surreal. I mean, I got friends that I went to high school with that go to games here at Illinois. I see them on the field after games and stuff. So it’s special to play here. And to be able to share with my family, I think it means the most to me. My older brother goes to school here. So just to have family around me, just having my parents, support, and guidance there with me. I think it gives me a lot of confidence knowing that at the end of the day, those guys are going to be there for me,” said Olano.
Since earning the starting kicker job as a sophomore prior to the 2024 season, success has continued for both Olano and the Illini. The team won 10 games a season ago, with Olano making 17 of 20 field goal attempts, including a clutch 38-yard kick in a win over Purdue to send the game to overtime.
Walking off with a win over USC
Earlier this fall, Olano sent a sold-out Memorial Stadium Homecoming crowd into a frenzy after kicking a game-winning 41-yard field goal to stun USC on the Fox Big Noon Kickoff Game of the Week. It was a full-circle moment that reminded the former Naperville North star of his first game winner, four years earlier.
“Being able to do it for the University and on that type of day, on Homecoming, against a good team, was just surreal. It’s definitely like I have good experiences on both ends of it against Metea, against USC. And it’s funny enough how I kind of think of it, and I look back at it, and I was just like comparing those two. It was a good time,” said Olano.
One week after the USC game winner, Olano tied the school record by making five field goals in a blowout victory over Purdue. With a season and a half of eligibility remaining and a leg with NFL-level power and accuracy, there is a lot David Olano can still achieve on the gridiron at the U of I and beyond.
For Naperville Sports Weekly, I’m Justin Cornwell.
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