UNM senior kicker and punter Vladimir Borombozin is having an outstanding year for the football team. He has made 16 straight field goals, dating back to last year. His last missed field goal in a game was more than a year ago. He was nominated for the Lou Groza Award, which is given annually to the best field goal kickers in the nation, but he was not one of the three finalists for the honor.
Borombozin, a Hollywood, Fla., native, has been a two year starter for UNM since transferring from West Hills College. He talked to the Daily Lobo about his success and the team's upcoming game versus Colorado State University.
Daily Lobo: What has been the key to your success kicking?
Vladimir Borombozin: Basically kicking, this year I am relaxing a lot more. Last year I was nervous and uptight. This year I am relaxing a lot more and just kicking my kick.
DL: When did you start kicking a football?
VB: In high school they had a little thing that if you wanted to tryout come to an assembly at a middle school. I went there and I signed up, but I didn't think anything of it because I didn't think of playing football. But they called me during the summer and I was like OK I am going to try out for it. They said I had a pretty good shot at a scholarship and I thought that its one way I can help out my parents and I started to practice kicking a lot more.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
DL: If you were stranded on an island, what two things would you want to have with you?
VB: A soccer ball because basically soccer has been my whole life and a picture of all my friends and family.
DL: Big game this weekend versus CSU?
VB: Yeah, probably the biggest game of my football career. In junior college we had a big game but I don't think that compares to this game. Basically it's for the whole thing. We circled this date at the beginning of the year. We thought this game would be for the conference title, but its still a big game to see who goes to a bowl game. This is my last shot at making a bowl game. For a lot of the seniors, we know this our last shot so we have to do our best. Its going to be a good game and hopefully all the students come to the game.
DL: Five seconds left, down by two and kicking a 30 or 40-yard field goal. Are you going to make it?
VB: Oh yeah, I'm confident right now because I have made all my kicks thus far. Every time I go out there I know I have made all my past kicks. I just have to be relaxed and once I am relaxed and I don't think about it, that is when I make my kicks. So far I have been doing a real good job going out there and relaxing and what ever happens, happens.
DL: Does that amaze you that you have made 16 straight field goals?
VB: Yeah. That is something all kickers strive for. You want to be perfect. So far, I just take one kick at a time and I tell myself that this kick is going to matter eventually. It might be in the first quarter but it will matter down the line. Three points matter for the team. I just go out and make them. I need to make all my kicks these last couple of games because it is going to come down to a couple of kicks.
DL: Do you remember the last time you missed a field goal?
VB: Yes, I do. San Diego State, 54 yards to win the game basically. I went out there and I was nervous. I let the score and time get to me. I tried to kick it harder and I didn't relax so I missed it. That kick got to me. After that, I just said I am going to go out there and relax. Hopefully, it will be the last one I ever miss in a uniform here.
(SDSU 17, UNM 16, Nov. 4, 2000)
DL: What does it mean to you to be nominated for the Lou Garza Award?
VB: Being nominated is a great thing because if you get nominated for this award, it means you are doing something good for the team. Just being nominated shows that I have done my job.
DL: You played soccer when you were younger, is that how you learned to kick?
VB: Yeah. I think most kickers in the nation right now played soccer at one point or another. Kicking a soccer ball is not the same as kicking a football, but it takes the same motion and it just takes time.
DL: What are your thoughts on the men's soccer team winning the conference tournament?
VB: That's exciting. I've been reading about them since I have been here. Because of soccer, I have been keeping up with them. They struggled in the beginning but it's a great time for them to strive and I wish them good luck.
DL: Who has been your mentor on and off the field?
VB: My mentor is my dad because he has been through a lot in his life and he has done the right things so I try to do the things he has done. My kicking idol is all the kickers because kicking is not easy.
DL: What do you want to do after you graduate?
VB: I want to go into sports broadcasting.
DL: Do you have any aspirations about going into the NFL?
VB: I've always told myself since high school that I am not going to be one of those players that has a goal set in the NFL, like I have to go. I've always said I want to go to college, enter school and get my degree. If it happens, great, but it is no big deal to me. I will have a degree and that is the whole point of going to college.
DL: How has adding punting duties this year helped your kicking?
VB: It helps my focus a lot more because if you have to wait on the bench until the last seconds, you have to get into the game. But punting, you have to stay focused in the game and it relaxes me because I am getting into the game. I already know the feel of the game. It has helped me a lot.
DL: Two people you would want to have dinner with?
VB: (Ex-NFL kicker) Pete Stoyanovich because he is the one I looked up to when I started kicking. He is Yugoslavian like I am and when he used to kick for the (Miami) Dolphins, I went to the games and watched him kick. I would just like to thank him for helping get me started. The other one is, being so far away from home, my family. I don't get to see them a lot during the year, so any chance I get means a lot to me.
DL: What do people think when they hear the name Vladimir Borombozin?
VB: When I first got here, I heard a lot of sports people say "Does he speak English;" I was born in Philadelphia and raised in Hollywood, Florida. I can understand with a name like that because it is not a typical American name. They way I look at it is, it's a kicker's name. I have the perfect kicker's name.
