Hawaii 5-Star P/K Jet Toner Talks Commitment to Stanford

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Sometimes in high school and college football, dreams do come true. For Punahou High School 5-star punter/kicker Jet Toner his dream came true receiving an offer from Stanford, an offer he immediately accepted.

Toner is a 6’3”, 185 pound, kicker with a cannon for a leg. At the end of his junior season he nailed 6 of 7 field goal attempts with a long of 53-yards and the lone miss was actually blocked not a true wide-right or wide-left miss. Off 56 kickoffs he sailed 46 into the end zone for touchbacks.

The Buff n’ Blue are having another great season with an 8-2 record ranked as one of the top teams in the state. Beyond kicking for his Hawaiian home-state team, Toner made the rounds in the offseason kicking at Chris Sailer camps earning his 5-star ranking winning the 2014 Hawaii Sumer Camp Punt Championship, was a punt finalist at the 2015 Vegas XXV camp, and was a 2014 Vegas Spring Event Field Goal Finalist.

He also made the rounds on the main-land kicking at UCLA, USC, and Stanford camps.

Field goal kickers and punters are key to the success of any football team but the opportunity to kick at a top program is based a lot on luck and timing. The biggest gamble is the school of your dreams needing a punter or kicker the year of your graduation. The stars lined up for Jet and in an exclusive Recruiting News Guru interview I was able to ask Jet about his commitment to the Cardinal.

Interview

Jet, first, congratulations on your commitment to Stanford.

“Thank you. I’m stoked and excited to be a Cardinal.”

What influenced you to commit when you did?

“I actually committed last week, a week ago on Sunday. I did not want to announce my commitment until after our tough week of preparations for our rivals, St. Louis High School. But what influenced me to commit to Stanford is it is a great school and a big opportunity. I committed on spot when they offered. Stanford is my dream school. I’m blessed to represent my family and state at such a great school.”

You committed on the spot when they offered? Did you know you were going to commit on the spot if/when they offered?

“They didn’t offer me on the spot in person, but I committed when they offered me over the phone. I knew I was going to commit if they offered. Stanford – going into the whole recruiting process has been my No. 1 school. I’m real happy it worked out this way.”

Who did you commit to?

“I committed to Coach Pete Alamar, he’s the special teams coach, and Coach Tavita Pritchard (quarterbacks and wide receivers coach), he’s from Hawaii. They both got on the phone with me. They said they’d like to offer and I committed.”

What were the reaction of the coaches?

“They were really happy and excited, I was excited.”

Is there a sense of relief, that to some extent, your recruiting process is over?

“There is a sense of relief but I still have to do well in school and get better at my craft. I have to work hard and be ready to go when I get there. I’m not relaxed yet. I’m not comfortable with where I’m at but I’m happy to have a home at Stanford.”

When will you take your official visit to Stanford?

“I went on an unofficial visit there in the summer, I’m hoping to go on official soon. We have not talked about that quite yet.”

Do you plan on recruiting other players to join you?

“If the opportunity presents itself yes, not sure they need my help they do a great job. Stanford has a commitment from one guy from Hawaii, Nate Herbig (St. Louis). He’s a great guy. I’ll stay in contact with him even though they beat us last night (27-23).”

Have the Stanford coaches told you what they want you to focus once you are on campus?

“I think I’ll fill whatever role needs to be filled. I’ll see what I’m best at and come prepared. I’m going to work on punting, kickoffs, and my field goal kicking. Well get into more details as time goes on but I’ll work on all three of them.”

Is everything going well for you in the classroom?

“Everything is going great in the classroom. I’m not too worried about that.”

Have you taken the SAT or ACT yet?

“I took my SAT and that’s all good.”

Excellent. Well congratulations again Jet on your big commitment.

“Thank you.”

2016 Stanford Commitment List

QB K.J. Costello, 6’4”, 218 lbs, Santa Margarita Catholic, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

RB Beau Bisharat, 6’2”, 210 lbs, Jesuit HS, Carmichael, CA

RB Brandon Stephens, 6’1”, 205 lbs, Plano HS, Plano, TX

TE Kaden Smith, 6’5”, 233 lbs, Marcus High School, Flower Mound, TX

WR Simi Fehoko, 6’3”, 195 lbs, Brighton HS, Salt Lake City, UT

OT Henry Hattis, 6’6”, 265 lbs, Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, NM

OT Nate Herbig, 6’4”, 320 lbs, St. Louis HS, Honolulu, HI

OT Clark Yarbrough, 6’6”, 270 lbs, Woodberry Forest, Woodberry Forest, VA

CB Treyjohn Butler, 5’11”, 190 lbs, Etiwanda HS, Rancho Cucamonga, CA

CB Nygel Edmonds, 5’11”, 181 lbs, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN

CB David Long, 6’0”, 175 lbs, Loyola HS, Los Angeles, CA

SS Malik Antoine, 5’11”, 185 lbs, Univ. Lab HS, Baton Rouge, LA

SS Chacho Ulloa, 6’0”, 190 lbs, Centennial HS, Corona, CA

DT Bo Peek, 6’3”, 290 lbs, Berkeley Prep, Tampa, FL

DT Michael Williams, 6’2”, 300 lbs, All Saints Episcopal, Fort Worth, TX

LB Bailey McElwain, 6’0”, 227 lbs, Hewitt Trussville HS, Trussville, AL

LB Curtis Robinson, 6’3”, 205 lbs, Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana, CA

P/K Jet Toner, 6’3”, 185 lbs, Punahou High School, Honolulu, HI

 

Photo credit: Hawaiiprepworld.com; Jet Toner in action.

Photo credit: ChrisSailer.com; Jet punts at a Chris Sailer camp.