BUTLERTWP — Garry Cathell knows kickers.

He should. Butler's varsity football coach has had plenty of them. And Golden Tornado senior Chris Haley has a chance to be one of the best.

Haley booted 11 field goals and scored 51 points last season, placing him second on Butler's 2005 scoring list behind quarterback Nick Monteleone.

He hasn't rested on those laurels. Haley spent this summer attending seven kicking camps, with Pitt, Penn State, Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana and Cornell universities being among them.

"He and his parents have been very proactive,"Cathell said. "Chris has been all over the place. They've put together a highlight tape that we've sent out everywhere.

"All kinds of schools, big and small, know about Chris Haley. And they're very interested."

Haley enters his senior season having kicked 17 career field goals. The Pennsylvania high school record for career field goals is 36, set from 1993-95 by Bobby Milspaw, a Peters Township kicker coached by Cathell.

Milspaw went on to kick at Washington &Jefferson College. Cathell has also coached eventual collegiate kickers Chris Bergman (Duquesne), Todd Barton (Pitt), Jason Gross (California, Pa.) and Scott Barton (Mount Union).

"Chris is as accurate as Milspaw was,"Cathell said. "He has as strong a leg as Todd Barton and if he becomes a punter, he'll be as good overall as Jason Gross."

Gross set most of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference punting records while at California.

Haley was the second-string punter behind Andrew Goettler the past two years. Goettler is walking on at West Virginia University this season as Haley inherits the Tornado punting duties.

"What I'm really working on is getting my kickoffs into the end zone,"Haley said. "The ultimate goal is to do that 100 percent of the time. The more realistic goal is 80 percent."

Out of 42 kickoffs last year, Haley had 11 touchbacks.

"That's the area you'll see the most improvement in him,"Cathell said. "When a kicker consistently puts the ball in the end zone — that's what recruiters want to see.

"There isn't much scholarship money out there for kickers. But once recruiters watch the ball sail into the end zone on a regular basis, someone may step forward with an offer. It's such a huge part of the game right now."

Everything appears in alignment for Haley to have a big season. Butler's offensive unit is solid and experienced, holder Andy Strutt returns from last season, long-snapper Joe Titler returns for his third campaign and Haley has continued to stretch out his field goal distance.

"Having Joe and Andy back, working with the same guys helps a lot. I can hit now from the high 40s, even low 50s (in yardage). I'm comfortable with that," Haley said.

Cathell agreed.

"Every time we push the ball inside the 40, we're in scoring range with him,"Cathell said.

As for college, Haley will be more than comfortable playing at any level — and any level of school will be more than comfortable getting him.

Haley carries a 4.34 cumulative grade point average as a member of the gifted program at Butler High School and ranks sixth out of 698 students academically in his senior class.

He has already visited Cornell, Case Western Reserve and Denison (Ohio).

"Big or small school doesn't matter to me,"Haley said. "I'm looking for the academic fit and my goal is to find a situation where I can kick as a freshman.

"Helping your team win games is what a kicker's all about. You can do that anywhere."

Haley was a soccer player through eighth grade. He began playing football in sixth grade, for South Butler of the Butler Area Midget Football League.

"Our team needed a kicker, so I started messing around with it after practice,"Haley recalled. "Next thing I knew, I was a sixth-grader kicking for the seventh and eighth-grade team."

And he's been kicking ever since, booting two varsity field goals as a freshman at Butler. He added four 3-pointers his sophomore year before his breakthrough season last fall.

"With his skills and work ethic, there's no telling how good he can be,"Cathell said.