Just last week we brought you a story about how YouTube and viral videos are helping people start careers in the entertainment industry through non-traditional methods. Now, a Norwegian Internet sensation seems to have made it into the NFL for his "kickalicious" skills.
The Detroit Lions are giving a Havard Rugland a shot on the team, signing the kicker but declining to disclose details of the deal.
In this undated image from internet video, Havard Rugland, of Norway, kicks a ball in a series of trick shots in Norway. Rugland hasn't played a single game at any level of football. Still, he's pursuing a long-shot bid to make the NFL thanks to a YouTube video showing him kicking field goals from almost any angle or distance. (Photo: AP/YouTube)
With the move, the Lions seem to be giving their other newly acquired kicker David Akers some competition or at least provide some depth at the position for practice. Detroit recently signed Akers soon after Jason Hanson retired.
A trick-shot video - called "Kickalicious" - Rugland posted in September has more than 3.1 million views as of Friday afternoon. The video shows him kicking and punting a football through uprights from as far away as 60 yards, from straight on and also from incredible angles. He also kicks a ball to a friend on a boat on a lake, in a moving car, on a skateboard, on a railroad bridge, on a hill, on a bluff overlooking a beach and over trees.
Check it out:
Rugland played amateur soccer in his native Norway before taking an interest in football in 2011 after watching the Super Bowl. He had tryouts for the Lions and New York Jets and has been working out at Michael Husted's pro kicking camp in Florida.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Rugland said last month that his tryout with the Lions went well even though he tweaked the hamstring in his powerful left leg. He's refined his kicking motion while working with Husted in San Diego since having a tryout with the Jets in December.
Norweigan soccer player Havard Rugland, whose Youtube video spawned NFL interest in his kicking ability, talks about his chances of becoming a NFL football placekicker, Thursday, March 7, 2013, in LaJolla, Calif. (Photo: AP/Lenny Ignelzi)
Husted has said he's heard from Jan Stenerud, the only pure kicker in the Hall of Fame and also from Norway.
"I grew up idolizing Jan Stenerud as a kid," Husted said last month. "He's excited to see another Norwegian have an opportunity to make it in the NFL."
Rugland is trying to take a similar route to the NFL as Darren Bennett. The former Australian Rules Football player became a two-time Pro Bowl punter for the San Diego Chargers in the mid-1990s.
"Of course I wouldn't mind having a career like him," Rugland said. "That's a lot to hope for."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
