Evan McPherson was clutch long before kicking Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl. Alabama town is proud of its hero

Every superhero has an origin story.

Evan McPherson — aka "Shooter" — is no different.

The Cincinnati Bengals' rookie kicker has built a following with two game-winning kicks in the NFL playoffs, against Tennessee and most recently against Kansas City in the AFC Championship game.

The success for McPherson, the first player from Fort Payne High School ever to play in an NFL regular-season game, does not surprise people who saw him grow up in the small town.

Signs of "Proud hometown of Evan McPherson" have flooded the streets of downtown Fort Payne to honor the hometown hero.

"He has always had the clutch gene,” said Fort Payne soccer coach Michael Farmer. “In soccer, he was playing forward and did a lot of goal-scoring. He never shied away from being in the spotlight or with pressure on him. Pressure doesn't bother him. It’s been very obvious through the playoffs.”

Cincinnati will play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday in Los Angeles (5:30 p.m., NBC).

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Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow told the media following the Titans game that McPherson had proclaimed, "I guess we're going to the AFC championship" to backup quarterback Brandon Allen moments before nailing his 52-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bengals a 19–16 win

Farmer said McPherson confirmed the account to him.

"It's just how confident he (is that he) will make it when he goes out there," Farmer said.

Using his head

McPherson is no stranger to winning big games under heavy pressure. The Bengals placekicker scored the game-winning goal for Fort Payne in overtime of a 1-0 win over Northview in the 2015 Class 6A state championship game.

It wasn't the golden leg that won the state championship.

"He headed the ball, ironically," said former Fort Payne soccer co-coach Tom Shanklin. "He scored our only two goals in the final four. He made the transition as a freshman and stepped up to get us two big wins. It was exciting."

Shanklin, who is now focused on developing youth soccer in DeKalb County, said he coached McPherson from ages 6 to 18.

“He has a quiet humble, confidence," Shanklin said. "He puts in the work and achieved the dream of his. It’s been a fairytale season. I am happy for him.”

Farmer added that McPherson was as good at kicking the soccer ball as he is kicking a football.

“He was a great soccer player,” Farmer said. “He could have played college soccer if he wanted. He was recruited a little. Once I found out he was concentrating on football, the soccer recruiting stopped.”

McPherson opted out of playing soccer his senior season, but still made an impact on the team.

"He was our manager," Shanklin said. "He was filling water bottles for the boys or whatever they needed. We finished as runner-up that year."

Kicking lineage

Logan McPherson literally kicked down the door of opportunities for the younger brothers.

As is the case with most brothers, the younger ones tend to follow the lead of the eldest. Evan and his younger brother, Alex, are no exception.

Logan, who was also an all-state kicker for Fort Payne and went on to punt at Louisiana Tech, joined the football team as a freshman. Until then, the McPherson family had been focused on soccer.

"(Fort Payne) had a senior kicker that year and they were looking for his heir, so to speak," said LaDon McPherson, Evan's father. "He spoke to Logan to come in and compete for the spot. He offered Logan the opportunity. He liked it and enjoyed it.

"That's how it started. Then we took him to camps and bi-weekly training to get him developed."

LaDon said the success Logan had convinced Evan and Alex to follow in their footsteps.

"Evan goes out and attaches PVC pipes to the soccer goal to make them field goals," LaDon said. "He started working on that when he was 9 because he was watching his big brother be successful."

Evan won the starting kicking position at the high school in the eighth grade. While he never got to play with Logan, Alex was the holder for Evan's senior season.

That year, Evan set the state record for the longest field goal in Alabama history, a record Alex broke earlier this season.

"Going into the 60-yarder, he looked at me and said, 'Let's break this record,'" Alex said. "It was supposed to be 55 yards, but we had a false start. ... He hit the ball, looked at me and said, 'We did it.'"

Alex said both he and Evan were celebrating before the kick even went through.

The youngest McPherson brother said Evan wasn't seeking attention when he made the "I guess we're going to the AFC Championship" comment.

"He said it as a funny joke," Alex said. "He was telling Brandon, probably wasn't thinking it was going to get out anywhere. He was just messing around. It's just the confidence he has in himself and the ability to go out there and do what he does."

Decision to go pro

Evan was the only kicker picked in the 2021 NFL Draft when the Bengals took him with the 149th pick in the fifth round.

He went 51-for-60 on field goals and 149-for-150 on PATs in his college career with the Florida Gators. He led the SEC with an 85% career field goal percentage among kicker with a minimum 50 attempts.

"He was getting a lot of feedback from NFL scouts and agents," LaDon said. "We had conversations with (then UF coach Dan) Mullen (and) his kicking coach about the pros and cons. ... Evan's gut was telling him it was time. His phone rang for 28 of the 32 NFL teams."

The McPhersons held a draft day party with nearly 125 people, including family, close friends and Evan's high school soccer team. There were four or five televisions set up throughout the house.

The party was held on a Saturday, the third day of the draft. The call from the Bengals came around 1 p.m.

"It was just surreal when you've been talking about for your whole life," Alex said. "The day he got drafted, basically, it doesn't feel real. All of a sudden he was getting drafted and everything was moving fast and now he's hit five game-winners."

Family at games

The McPhersons have been able to attend the majority of Evan's games this season. A few road games have been missed, especially when younger brother Alex has had a game or camps. The family made all three playoff games.

Eleven family members are planning to make the trip to Los Angeles for the Super Bowl.

When Evan's number has been called in the playoffs – he's 12-of-12 on field goals, 4-of-4 on extra point attempts – his mother, Amber has been tense.

"There were some nerves," LaDon said. "We just have watched him kick well all season, gave us some confidence. His mom was still praying and playing with her hands."

Record in sight

Including the two game-winners, McPherson is three field goals from breaking the record of 14 one postseason set by Indianapolis' Adam Vinatieri in 2006.

On the season, McPherson has hit 28 of 33 field-goal attempts and 46 of 48 PATs.

His fame is growing.

Last week, he Evan received a text from Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens, one of the most successful kickers in NFL history.

"Justin Tucker ... texted him sometime last week and told him good luck and that he is a fan of Evan's," Alex said. "Growing up, me and Evan ... what we based our kicking off of was Justin Tucker. It's kind of cool for Justin to text Evan and say he is a big fan."

Christopher McDonald, the actor who portrayed the character Shooter McGavin in "Happy Gilmore" – from which Evan's nickname originated – also texted the kicker last week.

Evan will look to build on his legend in the Super Bowl.

"It will be six game-winning kicks on Sunday," LaDon jokingly predicted. "... Maybe after Sunday's game, he'll get a shout-out from LeBron James."

Contact Ehsan Kassim at 256-300-5313 or ekassim@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Who is Evan McPherson, Cincinnati Bengals kicker in Super Bowl?