In the spring of 2020, with his career — and the world — in an uncertain place, Nick Folk and his family went on a road trip.
“We parked the RV right there,” Folk said Wednesday, pointing toward National Championship Drive on the University of Arizona campus.
The Folks didn’t stay long that day. It was a chance to stretch their legs and for Nick and Julianna Folks four kids to see where their father went to school and played ball.
“This was one of our last stops,” said Folk, who grew up near Los Angeles.
Football-wise, he didn’t know where the road would take him next. Folk had latched on with the New England Patriots during the 2019 season after more than a year out of the NFL, and he had performed well. Folk made 14 of 17 field-goal attempts and all 12 of his extra-point tries.
But the Patriots used a fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft on Marshall placekicker Justin Rohrwasser. Typically, when a team drafts a kicker, it’s that player’s job to lose.
Rohrwasser eventually did lose it, to Folk, who re-signed with the Patriots that August. Folk was 35 years old at the time and on the verge of reviving his career.
Folk would make 92.9% of his field goals that season. He’d make 92.3% the following year. This year’s he’s at 84.4%.
In four seasons with the Patriots, Folk has connected on 88.8% of his field goal tries — a higher rate than at any of his previous NFL stops. Earlier this season, he broke the NFL record for consecutive made field goals inside 50 yards. The streak ended in October at 64.
Folk has no deep explanation for his late-career success beyond determination and persistence.
“I don’t know,” he said Wednesday after practicing with the Patriots, who are spending this week in Tucson between games against the Cardinals and Raiders. “Playing for a good team, playing with good teammates, good coaches, that always helps. I just try not to lose faith and keep it going, keep rolling that train hard from that last game in Tampa to when I finally got back to playing with New England. I just needed one chance.”
After earning all-conference honors at Arizona in 2006, Folk was selected by the Cowboys in the sixth round of the ’07 draft. He spent three seasons in Dallas before being released — the first of six times that would happen to him over the course of his career.
Folk signed with the Jets, where made 82.2% of his field goals over seven productive seasons. Then came a short, subpar stint with the Buccaneers. Folk played in four games in 2017 and missed five of his last seven field-goal attempts, including all three in a 19-14 loss to the Patriots.
The Bucs placed Folk on injured reserve because of a knee injury. They cut him in February 2018.
Folk was out of football completely before signing with the Arizona Hotshots of the short-lived Alliance of American Football in January 2019. The league lasted less than two months before ceasing operations.
Folk got another chance in the NFL when New England signed him in late October. Folk missed a game later that season because of an emergency appendectomy but made enough of an impression to be brought back during training camp.
“Nick’s a really consistent player, a really consistent guy, the same guy every day when he walks into the room,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “He’s very confident, but he’s got a great deal of humility too. He’s a great teammate. He supports everybody.
“No matter how big the situation is, he’s got a real calmness about him. That’s a good thing. Calm but confident. He doesn’t get too high or too low. And he knows what’s important. He works on the important things, doesn’t get distracted by a lot of stuff that doesn’t really matter.
“There’s a ton of respect for him in that locker room and in our organization.”
In March of this year, Folk signed a two-year, $5 million contract with a $1.17 million signing bonus and $2.29 million in guaranteed money — about as close as any kicker can come to security and stability in a profession where there are only 32 jobs.
Folk isn’t taking anything for granted, though. He knows how volatile this business can be. He stays grounded by focusing on the journey.
“You just take it all day by day,” Folk, 38, said. “You gotta have a lot of belief in yourself. I’ve got a great support system with my wife and kids and family.
“Anytime you can you just get back out there, get back on the saddle ... it’s part of the game. There’s not many guys who don’t get released, or play for one team their entire career. So you just gotta take it day by day and take every situation as it comes. And do it with a smile on your face.”
Barrs, Brown commit
Two former Arizona defensive linemen have committed to new schools.
Defensive tackle Kyon Barrs committed to USC, while end/tackle JB Brown committed to UMass.
Barrs, an all-Pac-12 second-team selection in 2021, had narrowed his list of schools to USC, LSU and Miami, with visits scheduled for all three this week. The Murrieta, California, native was expected to announce his decision Sunday but apparently saw everything he needed to see from the hometown Trojans, committing to USC on Wednesday. Barrs also had offers from Mississippi State, Auburn, Tennessee, Indiana and Fresno State.
In four seasons at Arizona, Barrs totaled 102 tackles, 12.5 stops for loss and five sacks. Barrs started all 12 games this past season and had a career-high 39 tackles.
Barrs was one of four UA defensive linemen to enter the transfer portal since the season ended, joining Paris Shand, Dion Wilson Jr. and Jermaine Wiggins Jr. Barrs will join a USC team in its final season in the Pac-12 and will play against his former team in 2023 at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
Brown, who left the Wildcats program in October, announced that he’s committing to UMass to play for former UA defensive coordinator Don Brown, who is entering his second year as the head coach of the Minutemen.
JB Brown, a seventh-year Rich Rodriguez-era recruit, joined the Wildcats in 2017 but appeared in only four games over the past three years.
Brown had 61 tackles and 14.5 stops for losses during his time at the UA. Brown opted out of the pandemic-influenced season in 2020 and missed significant time the past two seasons – including all of 2022 because of shoulder surgery – to preserve his eligibility.
Do you know Arizona's state bird or its state mammal? Take this quiz and see how you do. Video by Johanna Eubank, Arizona Daily Star
