New nickname alert.

Parklane Academy senior Kyle “Krispie” Rushing.

As in Rice Krispies.

As in snap, crackle, and pop.

That’s exactly what happens when Rushing, a nationally ranked long snapper, does his job for the Pioneers.

The snap crackles through the air and pops into the hand of the waiting punter or holder.

Rushing will do more than just snap for the Pioneers in 2025 as he’ll also be an important part of the offense in his h-back role.

When he heads to college at the University of South Florida next year, he’ll become what’s known as a specialist in his role as a long snapper, where he’ll spend his time hanging with the punters, kickers, and other snappers.

Specialist, as in focusing on just that one task and honing your craft to become as good at it as humanly possible.

For Rushing, the son of Parklane Academy head football coach Ron Rushing and his wife Kappi, the journey to Division I football player began even before junior high.

“I just remember being younger and snapping in front of some high school guys and them being impressed with how hard I could send it at my age,” said Kyle in a recent chat before the Pioneers hit the field for an inter-squad scrimmage.

Ron Rushing has seen plenty of guys sign with colleges over his head coaching career that includes stops at Cathedral School in Natchez and Brookhaven Academy.

The world of specialist camps was something he’d never dealt with before though.

“It was kind of eye-opening to see this whole world of camps that caters to kickers, punters, and snappers,” said Ron Rushing. “You go to those to get exposure and rankings, because that’s what the schools use when they start looking for specialists.”

Kyle went to his first camp in Dallas and came out of it as the sixth ranked long snapper in the country by one service in December of 2023.

That led to him attending camps put on by Kohl’s Professional Camps. When his performances at their camps continued to wow evaluators, he started hearing from big time college programs on a routine basis.

“I think I probably talked to most of the teams in the SEC,” said Kyle about his recruitment. “I had a good relationship with Auburn and really like them. After I committed to South Florida, I got a call from the special teams coach at Georgia, but I let them know I was going to stick with honoring my commitment to USF.”

The Bulls of USF play in the American Athletic Conference. They’re coached by third year head coach Alex Golesh and Chad Creamer coordinates the special teams.

A simple axiom to guide you in recruiting is to go to the place that you feel most valued.

That’s the type of connection that Kyle Rushing felt when he got to the campus of South Florida in Tampa.

The process at a lot of places is to invite walk-ons to come in and earn a spot and possible scholarship through competition for specialist jobs.

South Florida will have Rushing on scholarship, another reason they stood out in the recruiting process.

“They rolled the red carpet out for him like he was a running back recruit,” said Ron Rushing about his son’s official visit. “Even since he committed, they still call and check on him twice a week, which has been awesome to see.”

Kyle Rushing is a quintessential coach’s kid. He knows the Pioneer’s offense like the back of his hand.

Blessed with his mother’s height, his athletic build, 6-foot-2/185-pounds, is another plus in his profile as a snapper.

After all, snappers don’t just send the ball backwards between their legs but then must sprint down field on punt coverage to try and contain the return man.

I’ve been counting Ron Rushing as a friend since I was Kyle’s age.

His first coaching gig was an assistant football coach and head baseball coach at Brookhaven Academy when I was a student there.

Ron was in charge of something called “Study Hall.”

“Come here, Furr,” he’d call me over most days.

My instructions were always the same, go to the library and get the sports section of The Clarion Ledger out of there and back to his room without anyone noticing.

Sounds easy, but remember, it was attached to a large stick, held by rubber bands with the rest of the paper.

We quickly bonded over our love of college football.

Later, I covered his teams at Brookhaven Academy for the local newspaper.

His oldest son Tate was an offensive lineman on those teams and the ball boy that was slinging the rock to the officials back then was a young Kyle.

Kyle and Ron got to experience another mountaintop moment last year when the Pioneers won the MAIS 4A state championship.

Their story reminds one of current South Caroline head coach Shane Beamer and his dad, longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer.

Frank Beamer had built the Hokies into a powerful program. He knew his son wanted to play college football for his dad one day, so he suggested Shane focus on being a long snapper.

Shane Beamer went on to snap for a Virginia Tech squad that played for a national championship in 1999.

“He loves the game,” said Ron Rushing of his son. “He’s pretty much been raised in a field house. I knew he had dreams of continuing to play, but he’s put in the work to get better and earn this opportunity.”

And that’s what Kyle Rushing hopes to continue to do, get better, ahead of signing his official letter-of-intent later this year.

“I’m still working on my form and finding something small that I can tweak and get better at,” said Rushing. “I hate it when I make a mistake, because I know people are expecting a perfect snap every time. That’s what I’m shooting for, to be perfect every time.”