Boltz add powerful leg of former Oregon kicker Matt Evensen

The Portland Boltz added former Oregon kicker Matt Evensen, his booming kickoffs and deep field goal range to the roster.

Evensen, who has played professionally in arena leagues and overseas, just completed performing at a regional kicking combine and is awaiting other professional opportunities. In the meantime, he plans to kick for the Boltz, rejoining coach Aaron Fentress, whom Evensen kicked for with the Portland Monarchs in 2011.

“Matt is a weapon,” Fentress said. “Although, in our high-scoring offense he hasn’t had as many field goal chances as he might have liked, he certainly has had numerous chances to show off his powerful leg on kickoffs. He once had nine touchbacks in single game for my former team. We hope to give him the same number of opportunities on a weekly basis this season and maybe with a few more field goal attempts sprinkled in.”

Evensen will be reunited with Oregon offensive line coach Josh Tschirgi, who played offensive line at Oregon from 2003 to 2007. Boltz wide receiver Zack McGinnis was a walk-on receiver at Oregon during that time, as well.

Evensen was a three-sport letterman at Portland’s Franklin High School where he earned first-team all-Portland Interscholastic League honors in both soccer and football, boasting a prep-best 53-yard field goal for the 2001 PIL champion Quakers.

Evensen was no ordinary kicker. He also played safety and in track and field did the long jump and ran sprints.

“Matt is not merely a kicker,” Fentress said. “He is an athlete who happens to be a great kicker. That only ads to his abilities because he does everything with the added dynamic of being extremely athletic.”

Evensen went on to earn four letters at Oregon. As a freshman in 2005, Evensen averaged 55.7 yards on a team-high 62 kickoffs while driving the ball into the end zone 13 times for touchbacks in 11 games.

In 2006, Evensen averaged 59.3 yards per kickoff while placing 20 of 64 attempts in the end zone. He received Oregon special teams player of the week for his performance in wins against Arizona State and UCLA. He had a combined 10 touchbacks in both games. READ MORE