It may be the loneliest position in all of sports.

When you do your job well, all you get is a few pats on the helmet, and a tee handed to you. When you do a bad job, you could get singled out as the main reason your team lost the game.

You don’t fraternize with the rest of the team because you have your own little niche. You wear the least amount of pads, and have the wimpiest facemask.

You are a place-kicker.

For years now, ISU place-kickers have been the targets of scrutiny, due in part to missed field goals in key situations.

The beginning of the 2002 season started the same way the 2001 season ended for then-place-kicker Tony Yelk, with a missed field goal.

All of Cyclone Country was in disarray, sensing the beginning of an erratic, ineffective ISU kicking game.

In came Adam Benike to the rescue.

“When I decided to attend Iowa State, I was just hoping for a chance to make the team,” said Benike, who was called into relief after Tony Yelk struggled with his kicks earlier this season.

What took place after Benike’s insertion into the lineup was historic.

Benike connected on 16 of 22 field goal attempts on the season, and nailed 45 of 46 extra points. His 93 points scored this season is a school record for kickers. All that added up to Second Team All-Big 12 honors.

“Being named All-Big 12 was a great honor, but it was more of a team award,” Benike said. “I owe a lot to all my blockers, my holder Casey Baldwin, and snapper Matt Bockes. Before spring practice, we all sat down and made a list of our academic goals and our football goals. I tried to stay realistic with those, but I still aimed pretty high.”

The boos that once showered down from Cyclone fans after missed field goals are now replaced by deafening cheers of admiration. However, Benike takes it all in stride.

“I’m just happy to be a part of the team’s success this season and help out any way I can,” Benike said. “The coaches have always been extremely supportive.”

The thought process of a kicker before attempting a kick is based on nerves of steel and plenty of brains.

Calculating the right amount of approach steps, placing his plant foot in the right position, making square contact and putting enough power and height behind the ball to clear the 10-foot crossbar and go between the 18-foot, six-inch posts extending skyward, are just a few of the things that Benike contemplates before each kick.

Now Benike gets the opportunity to showcase his All-Big 12 talents in a bowl game for the first time when the Cyclones travel to Boise, Idaho on Dec. 31, to take on Boise State in the Crucial.com Humanitarian Bowl.

“I’m extremely happy to go to Boise and play in a bowl game,” Benike said. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about the city and the state, and the team is excited to go.”