On Saturday, I'll be interviewing Mentor grad and Pitt kicker Kevin Harper, who will be in town following a week of workouts with the Panthers, for a future story in the sports section and online.

Harper will be Pitt's kicker this fall. He's an excellent place kicker, and owns the Ohio high school record with Mayfield's Carey Spear with a 61-yard field goal. Harper knows how to kick a football.

Now, we'll see if he can teach two guys how to kick a football. News-Herald staff writer Bill Tilton and myself will take some pointers from Harper at Mentor's football stadium and see if we can take that advice and actually boot the football through the uprights.

I have a feeling kicking a field goal is much more difficult than it looks, and that's not to say I think being a place kicker is easy. Not one bit.

Hopefully, Bill and I won't embarrass ourselves. Check back to our Web site early next week for a recap of the day's experience, good or bad.

- Mark Podolski