A former Saints kicker serves as the perfect resource for one of Southeastern’s newest specialists

COVINGTON, La. — Drew Talley spent the last four years kicking game winners and 50-yard field goals at St. Paul’s.

His 53-yarder against Kennedy in the 2024 season set a new school record.

This offseason, Talley is preparing for the next stage of his football career with the help of former Saints kicker Wil Lutz.

“I heard from Coach Sears. He just let me know. He said, Hey, Wil’s coming down here. He’s looking for a field, and you can go train with him. I’m like, wow. Yeah, sure, I’ll do that. So got in contact with him and we’ve been kicking ever since,” said Drew Talley.

The New Orleans Saints traded Lutz to Denver in August of 2023, but he still calls Louisiana home.

Lutz and Talley started training at Hunter Stadium about a year ago, and the experience has been a positive one for both kickers.

“It’s huge. Just having somebody at the professional level help pass on his knowledge to me is super valuable. Just having that training with him. Just learning all kinds of new techniques, tweaking my form. Just been feeling really good since,” said Talley.

“It’s always fun to be around guys who have a passion for this position. So, it’s fun to bounce ideas off, and I learn just as much from them as they learn from me. I just want to be a resource for people coming up, and I think Drew and I have had some fun kicking out here. We’ve kept the other sharp, and we’ve answered questions for each other. And I think that’s the most important thing about this is teaching the younger generations and us staying sharp while we can,” said Wil Lutz.

This week marked their final offseason session before the two go their separate ways for the 2025 football season.

Will Lutz starts training camp with the Broncos next week.

He is entering year three in Denver and is coming off a 2024 campaign when he converted 91% (31/34) of his field goal attempts.

The mark was the second-best of his career and top-ten in the NFL last season.

Talley signed with Southeastern back in February and opens his first fall camp with the Lions later this month.

“Southeastern just feels like home. Just like visiting there, talking to the coaches. It just felt right. So, they were my best offer. They were generous enough to give me an opportunity. So I took it, and I’m ready,” said Talley.

Southeastern will open the 2025 football season against Louisiana Tech on Saturday, August 30th.