If Carter Cremascoli looked like $100,000 in his debut as Air Force’s placekicker Saturday, he was simply matching his market value.

The sophomore, who learned he had won the starting position on Monday, connected on field goals of 52 and 21 yards, flawlessly handled four PATs and sent all seven of his kickoffs through the end zone for touchbacks.

“There’s a reason why,” coach Troy Calhoun explained of Cremascoli’s obvious talent. “I’ll just tell you this, he was offered $100,000 by a Big Ten school to go there over the holidays. And he chose to stay at the United States Air Force Academy.”

Neither Calhoun nor Cremascoli named the school that extended the offer, but the kicker from Mount Prospect, Ill., confirmed he was faced with a dilemma but opted against the short-term payout.

“It’s very difficult for me to make those type of decisions, especially in the way that it came,” he said. “But I believe in what this program is, I believe in what we stand for and what we’re building here; the opportunities that this school as a whole gives me.”

Despite returning, Cremascoli was not handed the position.

Jacob Medina opened last season as Air Force’s kicker before a midseason demotion following a pair of consequential misses in three-point losses to Navy and UNLV.

The final preseason depth chart listed Cremascoli and Medina in bold as potential starters. It was on Monday that Cremascoli learned he had won the position.

“The whole time during throughout fall camp I was preparing to be the starter, I’m sure he was too,” Cremascoli said. “So it wasn’t like a surprise, but it was kind of good to hear that the coaches believed in me and everything and I hope they continue to as I continue to perform.”

Walking away from a huge payday and into a position battle seems in keeping with Cremascoli’s makeup. After all, this was a high school student who graduated with a 4.67 GPA – a figure only possible if class loads are packed with the most advanced options available.

“My parents were very adamant about me taking all the classes I can, always challenging myself,” said Cremascoli, a former soccer player who switched to football as a junior in high school. “And so in the classroom and on the field, that’s kind of what I try to do every day.”

Even as a senior, when some friends and classmates were coasting to the finish line, Cremascoli aced four AP classes.

He aced his first test with Air Force, too, which was all the sweeter considering the context surrounding his decision to stay and the close battle for the role.

“It feels really good,” he said. “All of us work so hard, and to be able to have your hard work put out in front of everyone and be able to perform the level that you can, it’s really heartening.”

All that background aside, Cremascoli showed a massive leg between the deep kickoffs, some of which cleared the end zone by several yards, and the long field goal that cleared with plenty of distance.

“Does that number go up?” Calhoun said of Cremascoli’s early established long of 52 yards. “Maybe it does. You know what? I hope he hits a few field goals for us.”