.png "Fort Worth All Saints kicker Carver Johnston and All Saints special teams coach Jonathan Song pose for photographs at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026.")
Fort Worth All Saints kicker Carver Johnston and All Saints special teams coach Jonathan Song pose for photographs at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026.
Charles Baggarly
Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH
It was a battle of state champions.
Fort Worth All Saints was taking on Dallas Parish Episcopal to start the 2025 season. Carver Johnston, a freshman, waited on the sidelines.
It was unclear whether All Saints head coach Aaron Beck and special teams coach Jonathan Song, a former All-Big 12 TCU kicker, would call his number. Johnston was as inexperienced as it gets, never having played a snap of football.
Not in high school. Not in middle school or youth football. Not even in a scrimmage.
“I was definitely nervous,” Johnston said. “The only ever kicking I had ever done was in practice.”
In what Song called a game-time decision, the Saints took a chance on the freshman.
Freshman kicker with the game on the line…
IT’S GOOD. ‘29 K Carver Johnston NAILS the FG to put All Saints up by 3 with 3 seconds remaining.
Looking like All Saints will walk away with another statement victory in week 1.
24-21 All Saints | 0:03 4Q@PTFFootball |… pic.twitter.com/mZo32HuJ48
— Texas Private School Media (@TXPSMedia) August 30, 2025
Johnston hit a game-tying PAT with less than two minutes remaining. He followed it up with a 23-yard, game-winning field goal. According to Song, Johnston “hasn’t looked back since.”
A fast transition to football
Growing up, Johnston was a competitive soccer player.
He made the decision to try kicking footballs ahead of his freshman season. He suffered a hip fracture but recovered and persisted, fully committing to kicking. After only training a handful of moths, Johnston went on to have a strong season for All Saints in a run to back-to-back state titles, making 7 of 10 field goals and 100% of his PATs.
Fort Worth All Saints kicker Carver Johnston poses for a photograph at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram
Now, less than two years into kicking, he has earned national recognition as the only class of 2029 athlete to be ranked as a five-star in both major specialist recruiting outlets. Kohl’s Kicking rates him as the No. 4 sophomore kicker nationwide, while Chris Sailer Kicking gave him a No. 1 ranking.
Players with similar ratings have gone on to command offers from Power Four schools. For Johnston, that trajectory is familiar. His father, Brock Johnston, earned all-state honors at Burleson, kicked at the University of Houston and now serves as one of Carver’s mentors.
Fort Worth All Saints kicker Carver Johnston stretches at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram
Between his father and Song, Carver can constantly chat with proven, experienced kickers about training, technique and the mental aspect of the game.
Song stays connected to Saints, mentors Johnston
Having a high school position coach that’s TCU’s No. 10 all-time leading scorer is quite the luxury for Carver Johnston. Song ended his career as TCU’s leader in field goal percentage.
He doesn’t have to stay at All Saints, but he works there part-time because “It’s the family.”
Fort Worth All Saints special teams coach Jonathan Song talks to athletes at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram
Song is what the All Saints community calls a lifer. He attended the school through his elementary, middle school and high school days.
“A lot of the coaches, these are guys that I played with or played for, and that’s just the network that coach Beck has created,” Song said. “The environment and the culture is that guys want to come back and be here, despite our daily busy schedules.”
Fort Worth All Saints kicker Carver Johnston and All Saints special teams coach Jonathan Song talk together at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram
After TCU, Song played one season in The Spring League and made the difficult decision to leave his playing days behind him. But he soon stumbled upon another passion: the fashion industry.
Song’s full-time job is working at Men’s Collection, a family business, on East Berry Street.
“Initially, it was just to help out around COVID time,” Song said. “And I fell in love with the best and worst thing in the world: working for your parents.”
Song’s connections at TCU opened doors for Men’s Collection. The shop fitted student-athletes for Big 12 Media Days, NFL players and LaDainian Tomlinson for TCU’s version of the “LT Slide, Electric Glide” music video.
Big 12 Media Day Fits 🐸✅
Thank you to @TCUFBPlayerDev and @TCUFootball for allowing me to come back and work with these student athletes! Appreciate y’all fellas, and hope you enjoyed the fit! Stay healthy and best of luck this upcoming season! Go Frogs! pic.twitter.com/PxYrxAKTXD
— Jonathan Song (@JSong_18) July 13, 2026
Song is Fort Worth through and through. He’s been in the city his whole life.
“I was just so fortunate that Coach [Gary] Patterson took a chance on me and let me stay home in the area,” Song said. “I never gave it a thought that I’d be leaving Fort Worth – that’s my home.”
TCU Horned Frogs place kicker Jonathan Song (46) makes the extra point attempt after Kenedy Snell’s second quarter touchdown as TCU beats SMU 56-36 in their annual Iron Skillet game in Fort Worth, Saturday, September 16, 2017. Paul Moseley pmoseley@star-telegram.com
Now, he gets to train what could be the next great kicker out of Cowtown.
Another former soccer player turned kicker, Song sees parallels in his path and Johnston’s, but notes Johnston is further along as a sophomore than he was.
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Fort Worth All Saints kicker Carver Johnston and All Saints special teams coach Jonathan Song mess around after kicking practice at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram
Song said Johnston’s talent and leg strength are evident. The little things he can pass down have more to do with approach. It could be a reminder to let muscle memory take over and not overthink, or pointers on dealing with wind and aim point.
“I’m super fortunate to have a coach like [Song],” Johnston said. “He is just a great guy to talk to. He’s an incredible coach and has always helped me whether I’m dropping my shoulders or just making sure I stay high on my kicks. Everything he has done has got me to where I’m at.”
Inside recruiting as a kicker
Brock Johnston, as Carver’s trainer and father, wants to put him in the best spot to succeed. That involves time, private training and travel.
Recruiting for kickers works a bit differently than other positions. While outlets like 247Sports track and rank top athletes, they don’t focus heavily on specialists.
The two outlets that do are Kohl’s Kicking and Chris Sailer Kicking. To get noticed and evaluated, specialists need to attend their camps, as they factor in camp drills and competitions while considering trackable metrics like field goal accuracy, kickoff distance and hang time in their rankings.
Fort Worth All Saints kicker Carver Johnston goes through his kicking motion at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram
“The main thing for kicking is getting in front of people,” Carver said. “It’s like a quarterback. You can watch film all you want, but you need to see someone throw. If they don’t actually see me kick it, there’s no recruiting that’s going to be happening.”
Fort Worth All Saints kicker Carver Johnston and special teams coach Jonathan Song mess around with the football at All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram
With many things in life, it’s more about building relationships. Gameday invites to Alabama, Texas A&M and Texas can be crucial opportunities.
“That network and building that relationship early at Carver’s age as a sophomore is pivotal,” Song said. “For as highly ranked as he is, utilizing that and getting his name out there is huge. Because he has all the tools to be successful to play at the next level, it’s just matter of getting his name out there.”
Song is a great example of a kicker building relationships, and how it can provide opportunity. His TCU connections propelled Men’s Collection into being a go-to tailoring school for many TCU athletes and coaches. He also helps All Saints athletes look fresh for the homecoming dance.
And now Johnston looks to follow in his footsteps. Maybe not in a suit and tie but with the same path to Power Four kicking.
“Everything has come to the point to where I want it to be,” Johnston said. “And tons of credit to everyone that’s helped me. Coach Beck and Coach Song for giving me the chance at that first Parish game. It meant the world to me. I was able to prove myself with everybody watching. … I’ve just loved kicking ever since.”
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Charles Baggarly is a high school sports editor and reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He graduated from TCU in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and served as TCU 360’s sports editor. Connect with Charles on Twitter or via email.