When Alex McPherson runs onto the field to attempt a field goal, everything in his mind goes blank. There's no crowd noise, no 100,000 fans in the stadium. It's just him and the routine he has perfected over the years.

"I really go black," McPherson said. "I don't hear anything. I don't really think about anything. I tell myself one thing usually whenever I'm about to kick the ball, and it's just really get through the ball. It's just a kicker term, honestly. And I really don't hear anything other than the voice in my head, which is kind of funny to think about. And I honestly don't remember the moment until after I do it."

That's the focus you need at that position, one that is full of pressure situations when the game is on the line. Luckily for McPherson, he's had a couple of mentors in Anders Carlson and his brother, Evan McPherson, to help him stay true to himself. The two NFL kickers – Carlson is with the Green Bay Packers, and the elder McPherson is with the Cincinnati Bengals – advise the redshirt freshman to take in the whole experience.

"Don't take it for granted for my first game or that last season, and just trust what you've always done," McPherson said. "Don't be anybody else."

It was Alex's oldest brother, Logan, not Evan, that got him into kicking in the first place. The McPhersons grew up playing soccer – ironically, at 5-foot-9, Alex was a goalie – but soon found the skills of playing the sport translating to kicking a football. Logan got into it, going to camps and ultimately getting scouted. The two younger brothers wanted to follow in his footsteps.

"I started kicking when I was in fourth grade," McPherson said. "Evan started in sixth grade, so we just wanted to be like our older brother. And it's kind of where it brought us."

It's brought Alex to the starting kicker position at Auburn. This season, he's perfect on six field goal attempts, a long coming from 53 yards out, and has converted all 19 point after attempts. His accuracy has been great, and for the small-statured McPherson, he has plenty of boom in his legs to make it from far out.

So if the game is on the line for the Tigers and he is called upon to kick a game-winning field goal, at what yardage would he feel comfortable?

"We'll say with the wind, I think we could go 63, 64," McPherson said. "If we needed it against the wind, if you really need it, maybe 54, somewhere around there. It depends on how hard the wind's blowing, obviously. But I mean, if there's no wind, I think I can make a 62 for us if we need it. It'd be pretty fun."