I recently photographed New England Patriots’ punter Zoltan Mesko at the Atlanta Falcons’ practice field in Flowery Branch, Ga. for The Wall Street Journal.  The Romanian born kicker went to the Patriots in the fifth round, with the 150th selection after a 5-year college career at the University of Michigan where he graduated with a master’s degree in sports management.  The interesting thing about Zoltan’s story is that he didn’t always want to be a football star.  After winning a green card lottery, his family immigrated to a small low-rent apartment in Queens before moving to the small town of Twinsburg, OH in search for a better life.  When Zoltan accidentally shattered a light with a ball he kicked in gym class, the coach told him that he could either pay for the light or join the football team as a kicker.  Zoltan chose the less expensive route.  Later he was astonished when he found out that you could get a free ride to college simply for kicking a ball.  As a top recruit he had his pick of schools, but chose on the basis of the education he would receive and not just the strength of the football program.  He didn’t expect he would again be a top recruit at the end of his college career, but he was.  Read the complete story on the WSJ website here.

I recently photographed New England Patriots' punter Zoltan Mesko at the Atlanta Falcons' practice field in Flowery Branch, Ga. for The Wall Street Journal.  The Romanian born kicker went to the Patriots in the fifth round, with the 150th selection after a 5-year college career at the University of Michigan where he graduated with ...