Stewart Johnson
Stop us if you've heard this before: Yet another unit of the 2025 Carroll Dragon football team has received a preseason shout out from a national publication.
A top kicking and punting recruiter site has recognized the current Dragon special teams unit of Gavin Strange and Zachary Hays as one of the tops in the country. Chris Sailer Kicking -- often referred to as the gold standard program and player-ranker for high school kickers, punters and long snappers who want to play college football -- has Strange ranked as the no. 2 kicker and Hays the no. 2 punter in the country.
Strange has committed to Duke, while Hays remains undecided. Hays currently has offers from SMU, Baylor, Louisiana Tech, Western Kentucky, North Texas, Toledo, Stonehill and Drake, per Chris Sailer Kicking.
Strange and Hays also both play defense for the Dragons. Hays had 10.5 sacks and Strange had 41 tackles in 2024.
The Dallas Morning News also recognized Strange and Hays in an article listing the "Best Dallas-area specialists in the Class of 2026."