When thinking about the most important positions in football, quarterback and other skilled positions come to mind, but the kicker is usually never mentioned. With the College of DuPage winning 3 consecutive NJCAA championships and looking to defend their title this year in 2024, there is a big piece to their championship puzzle, and that is their kicker, Christian Casillas.

Casillas went to Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, Ill., where he started out as a varsity soccer player and stated that he “never had the attention to play football, like, yeah, it was cool to watch but never thought of playing.” Casillas joined the team the summer going into his junior year of high school. 

“I kicked with my friend who was the kicker the year before, and my first ever ball was a 45-yarder, and I just liked it.” 

After his friend graduated, there was an open void to fill, and Casillas jumped at the opportunity. 

To start Casillas’s football career, he had to break the news to his parents that he was going to play football as well as soccer, but they didn’t want him to play football because they were worried he would get hurt. 

“But it was something I wanted to do, so I told them I wasn’t going to do it, but I just joined the team anyway without them knowing,” Casillas said. “I told them after the second game of the season because they asked me where I was, and that’s when I told them,” stated Casillas. 

In Casillas’s junior season, he was still getting used to the game. 

“I didn’t really know the rules, so I was messing up on my punts,” Casillas said. 

Although a first-year kicker, Casillas was selected all-conference and won the program’s special teams MVP. 

“I began to take it more seriously because I knew I had potential to play in college.” 

In his senior season, he broke an Eisenhower High School record, was an All-State honorable mention, and was selected all-conference for the second time in two years, all while being on the varsity soccer team at the same time. But that would be just the start of his kicking career. 

When coming to COD, Casillas felt discouraged since he had no offers coming out of high school, despite earning many accolades in just two years of kicking. 

“Coming into college, I was definitely nervous because all the other kickers were asking me what coach I trained with. And I was like, coach? I just do this by myself; I taught myself how to kick and everything; when I told them that, they looked at me some way, and I just never felt like I was good enough, and when we kicked with the team, I was always last since I was too scared to mess up and miss,” stated Casillas. 

Before the first game of the 2023 season, the depth chart came out, and his name was at the top for kickoff and field goals. 

“It reassured me that I’m here for a reason,” Casillas stated. 

Casillas made his mark on the College of Dupage Championship team in 2023. Casillas was a first-team All-American, the second-leading scorer for the NJCAA champion Chaparrals, a three-time NJCAA Special Teams Player of the Week and had the longest FG in the entire NJCAA that season (51 yards). But still, he received no looks from any schools to transfer to. However, that just made him work harder. 

“I put in a lot of work in the offseason by just lifting and everything, and just seeing results means I’m getting recognized, which means a lot,” stated Casillas. 

So far in the 2024 season, Casillas broke the NJCAA record for the longest field goal in history, which Casillas says is his “most memorable kick.” “I’ve never tried that long of a kick before, not even in practice. So when Coach (Matt)Rahn asked me if I wanted to go for it, I was like, ‘Why not? I don’t have anything to lose; I’m expected to miss it.’ When I went up, I took an extra step; I didn’t even think; my technique went out the window, and I just ran and kicked the ball and hoped for the best, and it was straight in the middle,” stated Casillas. In addition to the kick that broke the record, Casillas has won four NJCAA Special Teams Player of the Week.

“I never get nervous on kicks because Andrew (Kallas) is our long snapper and Aaron (Rice), the punter, but he holds for me, and I trust them enough for them to do their job, and I know they trust me to do mine Having that chemistry is all that really matters. It’s also nice that Head Coach Rahn believes in me and will have my back. Even if I do miss a kick, I know my teammates won’t put me down.” 

Teammate Luke Bonnema said, “Christian is everything you want in a player and teammate. Always comes in to practice ready to work hard with a positive attitude. He always puts the team before himself. He’s just all around a great guy, and we’re lucky to have him.”

Casillas is a second-generation college student but the first in his entire family to play a sport in college. 

“My dad gives me the most inspiration because when he was 19, he moved from Mexico to the United States. Waking up at 5 a.m. every morning may suck, but he wanted a better life for my family. I try to remember that it’s always not just me, and I just want to let him know that it was worth it; I want to make him proud. He talks to his coworkers about me, and it’s just nice knowing that the person who inspires you recognizes that his sacrifice is worth it.” 

The Courier reached out to football Head Coach Matt Rahn but has yet to receive a response.