BURLINGTON, N.C. — Growing up, Joshua Karty never expected to be an NFL player. Instead, he always thought he would end up being a professional soccer player.
"I didn't start playing football until I was 14," Karty said. "I never thought I would be playing football at all actually."
His mom, on the other hand, had an inkling he would end up where he is today.
"I should have known when I was eight months pregnant and he kicked me to the floor," Karty's mother, Valarie joked.
In middle school, Karty's best friend, Hiral Patel, dragged him out to the football field to help him prepare for high school football tryouts.
"At the end, he said, 'Hey, you should kick a field goal,' and I was like, 'Alright, I'll try,'" Karty said.
"I made a 30, then I made a 35, a 40, and a 45-yarder - all my first tries," Karty said.
Patel encouraged Karty to try out for the football team. In the Karty household, there was a strict 'No football rule,' so Josh played soccer at the highest level his whole life.
"He came back right after that and said, 'Mom, I know I'm not allowed to play football, but there's this position called a kicker, that you're not allowed to be hit,'" Valarie said. "So I signed the form allowing him to play football."
His first high school game was one he will never forget.
"We were playing against Cummings High School, and I look around and there's like 2,000 people around in the high school football stadium," Karty reminisced. "That was the first thing I noticed was like, wow, football is kind of a big deal."
That realization grew as Karty continued to play football at Stanford. Fast forward a few years later, Karty was waiting for that coveted call from any team in the NFL.
"I saw the California number and said, 'Thank God, please be them,'" Karty said.
On the other line was the Los Angeles Rams Head Coach, Sean McVay and General Manager Les Snead.
"I was kind of expecting to go a little bit higher in the draft," Karty said. "So it was definitely a relief, getting the call."
Karty was one of three kickers selected in the NFL Draft.
"It's really cool because there's only 32 guys in the world who have a job at any given time," said Karty. "To be drafted as a kicker just by itself is an honor because it means that you're one of the two or three best in the country."
While Karty prepares for rookie minicamp for the Rams, he's taking with him an immense amount of pride being able to represent Western Alamance High School at the highest level.
"I carry the WA on my back, it means a lot to me," Karty said. "They provided me with all the opportunities ever."
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