Kicker Ben Jaekle battling back from back surgery

Ben Jaekle finds himself mainly kicking a Nerf football from short distances in practice these days. But that’s quite an improvement considering what the junior from Bonanza High School was capable of doing earlier this summer.

Junior kicker Ben Jaekle had back surgery in June.

Jaekle, the Rebels’ long-distance field goal kicker and kickoff man last season, could barely get his foot off the ground a few months ago, much less swing his leg around and kick a football.

“I had a herniated disc off the sciatic nerve,” Jaekle said. “It started not too long after the end of spring practice. The pain was so bad that I couldn’t even bring my foot up more than maybe 10 degrees. I’d get a real bad shooting pain that would go down my leg. I was kind of hunched over when I walked. I couldn’t sleep at night and I couldn’t sit for more than 10 minutes at a time.

“It ruined my whole summer basically.”

Jaekle, who connected on a pair of 52-yard field goals last season, underwent back surgery on June 14th to repair the problem. He said he’s now at about 90 percent and hopes to be back doing his normal kicking routine by around Aug. 19th if he doesn’t experience any setbacks. He’s competing with senior Kyle Watson for the team’s placekicking and kickoff job.

“I had to miss all the summer workouts with the team which really sucked,” he said. “Right now I’m still getting about four treatments a day on my back. I’m extending my kicking distance by about five yards each time I kick. I started by kicking from the goal line (10 yards) and (Sunday night) I kicked some extra points. I’ll take (today) off and kick again on Tuesday.”

Both Jaekle and UNLV head coach Mike Sanford expect him to be ready to go by the team’s season opener on Sept. 5 against Sacramento State.

“We (kickers) don’t usually do a lot of stuff the first part of training camp anyway,” Jaekle said. “I think I should be ready to go in another week or two.”

Jaekle has connected on 7-of-15 field goals in his career and has been very effective as a kickoff man for the Rebels. He booted a 54-yard field goal in high school.

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The Rebels will hold their first practice in full gear this morning from 8:45 to 11 a.m. at Rebel Park. The team leaves Tuesday morning to continue fall camp in Ely until Aug. 20.