It was a Labor Day weekend Middlebury College graduate Steve Hauschka won't ever forget. Hauschka thought he was a placekicker in the Minnesota Vikings' future on Saturday morning and by Saturday night he was in Baltimore as a member of the Ravens.

Rutland's Steve Wolf, Hauschka's personal kicking coach, said Hauschka phoned him Saturday after meeting with Vikings' management about being relegated to the practice squad.

"They told him that they were impressed with him and that they felt he had a good chance of being part of their future.

"But when they put you on the practice squad, you have to clear waivers and the Ravens claimed him."

It wasn't surprising that the team seizing that opportunity was the Ravens. Before the NFL draft in April, the two teams most interested in Hauschka were the Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.

"I think they are looking for him to do kickoffs and possibly long field goals," Wolf said.

"During the preseason games, the teams returned the ball only to the 21-yard line on average, which is 6 or 7 yards better for a kicker than the average return. He has been hitting his kickoffs real well. His hang time has been 4.2 seconds and sometimes 4.4 or 4.5, which is unheard of. Kicking it to the 5-yard line with a 4.2 hang time is very good."

Wolf developed a relationship with Hauschka when he helped coach him at Middlebury College and has been in touch with him almost daily since.