Coaches and teammates agree: Grady Harmon is a football player

Asked what his favorite part of football is, Grady Harmon answers without hesitation: "hitting people."

That seems like a normal response for a high-school football player until you realize that Grady Harmon is a kicker.

Scratch that. Harmon is not just a kicker. He doesn't like to be pigeonholed like that.

The Edmonds-Woodway senior is a football player, and that's how he'd like to be known — even if the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Harmon's ability to drill 40-plus-yard field goals will be what gets him onto a college football field.

"People always say, 'He's just a kicker, he doesn't do anything else,' " said Harmon, who runs 40 yards in 4.7 seconds and bench presses 245 pounds. "Kickers don't get a lot of respect; that just goes with the territory. When I go out there, I try to do my best to show that I can do more than just kick."

After his junior year, Harmon was named to The Associated Press Class 4A all-state first team as a kicker, and was a WesCo South first-team selection as a kicker and punter.

This summer, Harmon's name graced the pages of Sports Illustrated when he made the Reebok Preseason All-America West Region team as a punter.

Harmon's teammates also see him as more than a kicker.

"He can play running back, he's a good defensive player, he's just a good athlete," said senior quarterback Randy Anderson, who will hold for Harmon this year. "He's definitely more than just a kicker. Usually the kicker's just some soccer player who stands around for most of the game, but this guy's a football player."

Anderson said teammates call Harmon G-Money, "because his field goals are money every single time."

Harmon, who lists Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri as his favorite football player, has received scholarship offers from Idaho and Air Force, and recruiting interest from Arizona.

Last season, he made 34 of 36 extra points, and 12 of 15 field goals, including a long of 43 yards. Harmon says his best practice kick was 57 yards, and he hopes to make at least a 50-yarder in a game this season.

Harmon's off-the-field interests include hunting, snowboarding and wakeboarding, as well as beating his teammates in pool and bowling.

Even though his teammates praise Harmon as a football player, they'll remind him from time to time that he is a kicker.

"They'll joke with me saying, 'You're just a kicker. Anyone could do that,' " he said. "But that's what's great about playing linebacker. ... Then I can go out on the field and hit them.

"I like kicking, and I know that's what I'm going to be doing in college, but I just don't want people thinking I can't do anything else."

So far, no one is making that assumption.

"He's a football player," said Edmonds-Woodway coach John Gradwohl. "Obviously kicking is a big part of it, but he loves all aspects of the game. He is involved in all the drills. He doesn't stand on the sideline and wait to kick. He's just a good athlete."

Around the county

• Heading into her final soccer season, Jackson midfielder Dani Oster can cross choosing a college off her to-do list.

Oster, 17, made a verbal commitment to Oregon, choosing the Ducks over Washington, Washington State, Gonzaga, Oregon State and Stanford, to name a few.

"It's such a relief to have that decision out of the way," said Oster, who scored 20 goals while leading the Timberwolves to the Class 4A state girls soccer semifinals. "That takes some pressure off me and I can just enjoy life and enjoy this season."

Oster said she chose Oregon, in part, because she will likely be able to contribute to the rebuilding program right away.

• Team White knocked off Team Green 2-1 in the Everett Silvertips annual Green vs. White scrimmage Sunday. Kyle Annesley scored both goals for Team White, and John Lammers scored for Team Green.

John Boyle: jboyle@seattletimes.com