No one wants to grow up and be a kicker — it’s not a pretty job, and kickers only are noticed when they screw up.

The same can be said for NIU kicker Steve Azar.

After struggling in the early part of the season, the former walk-on from Colorado has quietly made a name for himself among the collegiate kicking elite.

But, before you go off thinking Azar had dreams of growing up and booting game-winning field goals for the Huskies, Azar had other things in mind.

“I wanted to go to college for soccer,” Azar recalled of his younger days. “I never thought about kicking in college until I had the choice to play soccer or football.”

Azar decided to decline soccer scholarships from BYU-Hawaii and New Mexico to walk-on at NIU. And that decision has made the NIU faithful happy ever since.

“I wish I could say that it was good recruiting,” head coach Joe Novak said of Azar’s decision. “We didn’t know much about him. He wrote to the school, and we were lucky enough to write back.”

When Azar looked at NIU as a possible suitor, he saw a lot of potential in the football team. When he arrived at NIU, it gave him a good chance of being independent.

And the decision has proved to be a good one so far.

With the NIU offense struggling in the red-zone this season, Azar has taken the Huskies’ misfortune and turned it into a positive for himself. Coming into this past weekend’s games, Azar led the nation in field goals with 18. For his career, Azar has made 32-of-38 attempts.

“To be honest, I’d rather we never have to kick him,” Novak said. “But we feel confident if things don’t go our way down there that we will still get points.”

Azar’s great season has caught the eye of people beyond the NIU community. Azar was announced as semi-finalist for the Lou Groza Award given annually to the country’s top collegiate kicker.

“I didn’t want it to get to me,” Azar commented about being nominated for the award. “When you start thinking about it, you start missing.”

When discussing the Groza award, Azar is quick to thank his teammates.

“The line is one of the main reasons for my success. I rely on them as much as they rely on me. When I kicked the game winner they were doing exactly what they should,” Azar said of his last second kick earlier this season.

Azar’s success this year hasn’t been just on a personal level.

Novak knows the sophomore has brought the Huskies good publicity around the nation. And with Azar’s success, Novak said it has helped the team with recruiting.

“When you get a reputation for putting out good players at a position, it does carry over,” Novak said. “It is a huge advantage for us.”

With the Mid-American Conference West Division co-championship hanging in the balance of Saturday’s game, Azar thinks the Huskies are well on their way to where they want to be.

“Being co-champs would be a great honor,” said Azar. “It would be a huge accomplishment for our program.”

A lot could be riding on Steve Azar’s next kick: a conference title, a school record, the Lou Groza Award or even a shot at the NFL.

No wonder no one wants to grow up and be a kicker.