ALCOA, Tenn. — When Alcoa's Zeke Rankin steps up for a kick, there's already a little pressure.
"Aye, you already know I'm gonna miss some!" he joked during warm ups before a preseason scrimmage against Bradley Central.
There's a long process before the kick goes through the uprights.
"I've got my kicking coach from the sideline of course yelling everything you could possibly think of," said Rankin.
"Keep that chest up, nothing but sweet spot hits," coach Carlos Lopez yelled, just as Rankin expected.
"As soon as I get out there, everything goes blank. Step back, look at the holder, I have a great holder. Then all of a sudden, it's up and it's good, or it's up and it's bad."
Lopez understands the pressure on Rankin. He kicked for Carson-Newman, MTSU and the Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm.
"We have a position where we're either the most loved in the game or the most hated in the game," he laughed.
Rankin is putting a little more pressure on himself, but for the best reason possible.
"This season I'm going to be doing a fundraiser called Kicking for Kids and it's through me and Children's Hospital."
He's asking for donations to East Tennessee Children's Hospital. Either a flat sum or a donation for every point scored. So for example, if you donate one dollar per point, that would be one dollar for an extra point and three dollars for a field goal.
"I come out here and I probably kick five or six times a game, kick five or six extra points. That's five points and at the end of the year we're looking at 100... 130 points I could score."
So why do it? Rankin said it's the right thing to do.
"I feel like I was put in a good spot to do what I do best and use it for somebody else. It gives you a good feeling in your heart when you know that you go out here and you're doing it for somebody other than me and my team."
The son of head coach Gary Rankin, Zeke has spent a lot of time around the program. Lopez looks at him as a little brother. They have a tight connection.
"He's a lovable kid," said Lopez. "He's very special and for him to want to do something to help children, not one bit did it surprise me at all."
All that's left to do, is make the kicks count.
"I told him we can do all this stuff right here, we can put in on social media, we're going to help these children, we're going to do this, but if we don't do it on the field, it's meaningless," said Lopez. "So it's definitely time to get to work and get some points."
If you'd like to help, head to East Tennessee Children's Hospital's website, or click HERE.