Taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves is what Bobby Wenzig does.
 
The Hornets' All-American punter has spent his spring and summer breaks taking advantage of a major opportunities.
 
Working out with two-time NFL Pro Bowler Darren Bennett during the offseason, the 22-year old wants to not only take the Southwestern Athletic Conference by storm, but the entire country. 
 
"My dad (Bernard) actually got the ball rolling in working with Darren Bennett. He found out that Coach Bennett was building a base in the San Diego area as far as coaching punters and contacted him about working with me," Wenzig said. "We called him up and he said he'd be glad to help me out. I started punting with him over spring break.  Bennett, along with some other NFL punters, held a huge group session for college players to get our punting and coaching down. Being able to compare myself to the other guys there was a great experience."
 
Former LSU punter Brad Wing was among the punters who joined Wenzig during the one-day session. Players representing Stanford, New Mexico State, Oregon and USC also participated.
 
Although Bennett was the organizer of the session, the players also had the advantage of working with former Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys punter Mat McBriar as well as John Carney formerly of the New York Giants and current Giants punter Steve Weatherford.
 
"Over the past few weeks, I had the chance to work a lot with Mat and Darren, they both said I've shown that I have the potential to get to the NFL," Wenzig said. "One of the most important things I've learned in all of this is that I'm economical when it comes to punting movements.  The more you can simplify things and not to think so much, the more punting becomes second nature and the more consistent you'll become."
 
While Wenzig admits to learning a lot from Bennett about the art of punting, he also learned a lot from the former San Diego Charger about life outside of football.
 
"Darren's oldest son Billy (Will) has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and while he's giving us younger player's advice on improving our game, he also wants to make Billy's life the best it can be," Wenzig said. "Billy's in a wheelchair, but he's the best "drop punt" coach around. He can analyze the ball and our punts/kicks better than any coach in the game.  Darren definitely plays it forward and I plan to do the same. I'll be working with him on some of the Muscular Dystrophy fundraisers he holds throughout the year and by coming back to work with the next group of up and coming punters."
 
Last season, the San Diego native averaged 45.6 yards on 61 punts (with a long of 67), in addition to 24 punts of at least 50 yards with 24 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He also had a critical 14-yard run on fourth down to help setup the game-winning touchdown in a win at Grambling. As a place kicker, Wenzig scored 62 points making 38 of 42 PATs along with eight field goals.
 
Named to the College Football Performance Awards place kicker watch list during the offseason, Wenzig was recently named to the Sports Network FCS Preseason All-American Team.
 
On track to graduate in December with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, Wenzig currently has a 3.8 GPA and hopes to get into real estate and investment banking.
 
"I've been learning more and more about real estate. With the market rebounding slowly, I want to be a part of that," he said. "The government and banks are both providing a lot of opportunities over the next five years to rebuild the market; now is the time to take advantage of those opportunities," he said. "Football only comes once in a lifetime, real estate opportunities are forever."
 
Originally recruited and playing for what he calls the other ASU, Arizona State University, the 6-2, 180 pound senior played in six games as a true freshman before being re-recruited following his red-shirt sophomore season.
 
"I was given the chance to come to Alabama State and play football and I took it. Life is about taking opportunities," said Wenzig, who is in his third season as a Hornet. "My bottom line as a football player was to get into the NFL and I knew I had to still find a way to get there. Alabama State is that way. You have to use what you can, when it comes your way."
 

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