LOGAN, Utah – Former Utah State placekicker Brad Bohn had a vision of how he would like Dominik Eberle to break his career field goals record.
 
"They say records are meant to be broken," Bohn said. "Watching Dom reach his potential in an Aggie uniform has been tremendous to see. He really deserves all the accolades he receives. He has broken just about every record that I had the good fortune to set almost 20 years ago. Next up is the most meaningful of them all, the career field goals record, which demonstrates longevity and consistency. My vision is that he connects on his 60th career field goal to beat Boise State and send the Aggies to the Mountain West championship game."
 
Eberle didn't wait until this weekend's showdown with No. 20 Boise State to break Bohn's career field goal record.
 
In the Aggies' thrilling 26-21 win over Wyoming last Saturday on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium, Eberle was 4-of-5 on field goal attempts and scored 14 points against the Cowboys. He made field goals from 47, 44, 26 and 23 yards, respectively, while his lone miss was from 50 yards.
 
With his four made field goals, Eberle set both the Utah State and Mountain West record for field goals made in a career as he is now 61-of-78. The previous school record of 59 made field goals was held by Bohn (1997-2000), while the previous MW record of 57 was previously set by Utah's Louis Sakoda (2005-08).
 
Eberle also extended his school record of points scored in a career to 337 following his 14-point outing against the Cowboys. The native of Nuremberg, Germany, is tied with Colorado State's Wyatt Bryan (2015-18) for the fourth-most points scored in Mountain West history. TCU's Ross Evans (2008-11) holds the league record with 407 career points scored.
 
Prior to the Wyoming game, Eberle connected on three field goals against Fresno State on Nov. 9, including a 30-yarder as time expired, to lift Utah State to the thrilling 37-35 road win.
 
It marked the first time since 1998 that Utah State kicked a field goal to win the game. The last person to do it? Bohn. Just like his pupil, he drilled a 30-yarder with five seconds left as the Aggies edged North Texas 28-27.
 
"It's good to get those opportunities," Eberle said. "I really like that whether the offense is going to score touchdowns or if we're going to score field goals, we're getting points on the board. I've just got to do my job and help the team, no matter what, to achieve a win. I'd rather kick PATs to be honest, but when they're field goals and they're going in, that's also really good, and I'm glad that I'm able to step up and help the team that way."
 
Prior to his senior season at Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, Calif., Eberle attended a training session at the West Coast Kicking Academy, which was founded 17 years ago by Bohn.
 
Since that time, the two have formed a working relationship that continues today.
 
"Dom is a tremendous young man both on and off the field," Bohn said. "He is a great teammate and tremendously humble. He is everything a coach would want in a student-athlete. He is self-motivated, positive and unselfish. He also possesses a healthy chip on his shoulder, which gives him the passion to become better each day. I take great pride in not only being able to help him on his athletic journey, but it means even more that we could send him to Utah State for his collegiate career. My experience at USU was extremely meaningful and laid the groundwork for where I am today. I'm happy Dom gets to have a similar experience."
 
Bohn recalls the day he first met Eberle.
 
"Dom was a tall and lanky 17-year-old when we met, but he already possessed a strong leg," Bohn said. "We focused mainly on trying to develop his technique to become repeatable and consistent. I would tell him, 'No one cares if you can kick a ball 60 yards if you can't kick it straight. Coaches want to see your consistency.' He has been determined the last four years to develop into a reliable placekicker and his stats demonstrate his discipline and hard work."
 
Eberle has embraced the moment ever since he walked on campus at Utah State. The easy going native of Nuremberg, Germany, didn't even start playing football until his freshman year of high school, but that hasn't stopped him from becoming one of the greatest kickers USU has ever seen.
 
"I fell in love with Utah State the moment that I got here," Eberle said. "Having all my friends on the team take me in the way they did, especially the older guys when I first got here, and then continuously growing those relationships with some friends that I made here that are now going to be lifelong friends, that really helped me get to where I am today. I wouldn't be here without them."
 
In a span of nine days, from Oct. 28 to Nov. 5, Eberle was nominated for three postseason awards: the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy, the national college football award recognizing community service; the Senior CLASS Award – to be eligible, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition; and finally, the Burlsworth Trophy, which is given to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field.
 
None of that surprises Utah State special teams coordinator/running backs coach Stacy Collins, though. In fact, he always knew there was something special about Eberle, who walked on at Utah State prior to the start of the 2015 season, his redshirt year.
 
"He had a competitiveness to him and an ability to him that's unique," Collins said. "He was a little immature at that time, and he'd be the first to tell you that, but he matured fast, and once he got over that, once he got frustrated with things when he'd miss a kick and that, he became extremely rock solid. He's unflappable right now, and nothing bothers him. If things don't go right, he moves on to the next play. That attests to the kind of person and player he is."
 
Since taking over the placekicking duties for the Aggies as a sophomore in 2017, the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has racked up the accolades and records. Earlier this year, he became Utah State's record holder for most points scored in a career, surpassing the previous mark of 308 set by former running back Robert Turbin.
 
"Robert Turbin is one of the all-time greats, and he was a standard of excellence," Eberle said. "Turbin, and then on the defensive side, Bobby Wagner and Merlin Olsen, you have all these great guys, and even just having a record and being neck-and-neck with those guys means a lot. It is surreal. I try not to focus so much on those things, but when (long snapper) Brandon Pada came up to me after I made the PAT against BYU to set the record, and he was just jumping on me, that's when I really was embracing the moment, and I truly enjoyed it."
 
Eberle is a perfect 154-of-154 on extra points made and attempted, both of which are school records. Furthermore, the 154 consecutive extra points made is a school record.
 
During the 2018 campaign, Eberle set single-season school records for extra points made (75) and attempted (75), points scored (141), and points per game (10.8). He also tied for first in field goals attempted (28), joining Bohn, who first accomplished the feat in 1998.
 
In Utah State's 60-13 win over New Mexico State last season, Eberle tied two NCAA records for points scored by a kicker with 24 and kicking three 50-plus-yard field goals – he had three 51-yarders against NMSU. Furthermore, Eberle set USU and Mountain West records with his six made field goals against the southern Aggies, while his six attempts tied his own school record previously set in 2017.
 
His six made field goals (44, 32, 51, 21, 51 and 51) are tied for the third-most in a single game in NCAA history.
 
"From a performance standpoint, he's been unbelievable from putting points on the board in field goal situations and what not, but his leadership and his competitiveness is not only valuable for the team, but it's been valuable for the young specialists we have going through it with him," Collins said. "All the way around, he's what you want an Aggie to be. He does everything right, both on and off the field."
 
The son of Güenther Eberle and Carmen Romero-Eberle, who is majoring in both international business and marketing, is on track to graduate this December. After that, he plans on pursuing a career in the NFL.
 
"He's an extremely good student and he'll be extremely successful in life with whatever he wants to do," Collins said. "He's a great person both on and off the field."
 
When his football career is over, Eberle wants to remain involved in sports.
 
"Ideally, I would want to work with a sports franchise, whether in Germany, England or here in the US with an NFL or hockey team," said Eberle, who is fluent in three languages – English, German and Spanish. "Ideally, I want to be in a marketing department, and I just love being around the whole competition side of things."
 
How does Eberle want Aggie fans to remember him by?
 
"Just the guy that's active in the community," he said. "It's easy to remember one by how they play on the field, but I feel like my work in the community, especially with the kids that are going to be here in Logan and are going to be around for the next generation, I feel like I put myself in positions where I'm around them a lot, where I can make them smile even for giving them my cleats or giving them a pair of gloves, and then just volunteering and community service. I feel like that's something I want to be remembered by before all the football accolades."
 
Prior to its home finale against Boise State on Saturday night, Utah State will honor its 15 seniors, including Eberle.
 
The last time the Aggies beat the Broncos in Logan was during Eberle's redshirt freshman year in 2015.
 
"That was a great experience.," Eberle said. "I want to repeat that again with all the seniors that came in for that experience. Just in general, every one of my teammates, it's a huge game. Our focus is solely on them and this week of practice is going to determine so much more about how the game is going to go than when the game actually happens. I feel like the preparation to it will be the most important."
 
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
 
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