Finding Football
Growing up outside of Dallas, Loop wanted to be a professional soccer player. He swam, ran track, and played lacrosse in his early years, but soccer was his main love.
His leg was special. One of Loop’s coaches even convinced Tyler’s dad, Steve, to build his son a wall that he could boot balls into.
Eventually, Steve took Tyler to a local football field to see what he could do. “Just humor me,” he told his son.
“He was kicking 55-yard field goals in the seventh grade,” Steve said.
Steve pushed Tyler to show his middle school coach what he could do, and that’s where it all began. Tyler balanced kicking for Lovejoy High School while starring for the soccer team, and one day after a soccer game, he told his parents his long-term plan.
Tyler was going to play in the Premier League when he was older. But then he added a disclaimer: If not, he would kick in the NFL.
Through the years, Tyler’s love for kicking grew. He became infatuated with the mechanical side, learning every detail to diagnose his swing. He began training with Kohl’s Kicking and turned into one of the top kickers in the nation. By the time he was a senior, Tyler had quit soccer and was kicking full time.
“At one point, Tyler said, ‘Look, Dad, you may have 1,000 people show up to a Division I soccer game. You get 100,000 people to show up to a Division I football game. I’m doing that,'” Steve recalled.
Tyler committed to Arizona and became one of the most storied kickers in program history. His 62-yard field goal last season set a Wildcat record, and he leads all Arizona kickers with an 83.75% field goal percentage over his five-year career.