Gamecock Kickers Connected by Their Unique Backgrounds

It really is a small world.

Redshirt freshman Eddie Buckhouse and redshirt junior Alexander Woznick never met each other before becoming teammates on the South Carolina football team, but they share a lot in common.

Eddie  Buckhouse

Both are walk-ons.

Both are place kickers.

Both grew up in the South Carolina with Woznick hailing from Greenville, while Buckhouse was raised in Florence, and now they’re roommates.

Both were adopted as infants.

But here’s the kicker (pardon the pun) – both were born in Russia.

Woznick was born in Ivanovo, which is approximately 160 miles northeast of Moscow. Buckhouse was born in Saint Petersburg. They found out that they had this connection thanks to a small scar they each had.

“It was kind of odd,” said Buckhouse, who is studying chemistry. “We were at practice one day. With kickers, we can get bored sometimes, and we talk about random things. I was talking about how I have a scar from a TB (tuberculosis) shot. It’s like a divot in your arm. He said that he has one, too. I knew I got mine because I was adopted from Russia, and at the time Russia still gave the shot, but the U.S. didn’t. I knew because my mom is in the medical field.”

“I had tried to figure out what it was for years!” said Woznick, a media arts major.

“We have the same kind of ethic with kicking.”
– Eddie  Buckhouse

 After realizing their common backgrounds, the two took it in stride.

“I was a little bit surprised,” Buckhouse said. “We’re probably among the few, if not the only, adopted kids on the team. So, the fact that we’re both from the same place is kind of crazy.”

“Add to that the chances that we’re living together now is pretty odd, too,” Woznick said.

With this unique kinship, the duo sometimes acts like siblings.

“With Woznick, a lot of people get annoyed by him,” Buckhouse joked. “I’m one of the few people that can put up with it.”

“He’s not wrong,” Woznick said.

Both were told by their parents that they were adopted at an early age.

“My parents always brought out these massive photo albums, telling me where I was from,” Woznick said. “They showed me where they got me and my brother from. My brother was adopted from Pskov.”

“I’ve always known. When you’re really young, you don’t really understand though,” Buckhouse said. “A week after I came to the U.S. my older sister took me to school for show and tell.”

Neither has been back to Russia. While both have thought about visiting their places of birth, there is some caution, as they are both technically dual citizens of the U.S. and Russia.
 

Alexander  Woznick

“As long as you never denounce your citizenship, you keep it,” Buckhouse explained. “We didn’t have to denounce it because we were so young. In Russia, from 18 to 25 years old is conscription age. If we go over there, we should be fine, but technically we’re still citizens, so you never know. If I ever did go, I’d probably have to denounce my (Russian) citizenship first. To get into the country, I could use a U.S. passport, but to leave the country, I’d have to have a Russian passport.

“Because I was so young when I was adopted, the only thing I really want to know about my birth family is the medical side. I don’t know anything about my family medical history, so that’s always fun when I go to the doctor’s office and leave everything blank.”

“I’ve always wanted to go back there,” said Woznick, whose parents are of Ukrainian descent. “My parents talked about sending me on a trip there my senior year of high school as a graduation gift. It could have been difficult if I stayed there too long, and I guess could have been put in the military.”

While adopting children from Russia in years past was not uncommon, it is by no means an easy process, and the two Gamecocks are appreciative of their families’ efforts to bring them to the U.S.

“I was brought into this country with many bribes,” Buckhouse said with a laugh. “It wasn’t an easy process.”

Buckhouse and Woznick previously played soccer growing up, eventually discovering their talents could provide them opportunities on the gridiron in high school and beyond. They soon discovered a lot of similarities in how they go about their craft at South Carolina.

“We have the same kind of ethic with kicking,” Buckhouse said. “At practice, we don’t just want to kick a few balls and call it a day. We’re both known for spending a long time in practice, kicking ball after ball, trying to be perfect in every little thing.”

“We will overdo it a lot,” Woznick said.

Both have accepted their roles where kickers can be the hero or the goat, depending on their last kick.

“A lot of kicking is dealing with pressure and whatnot,” Buckhouse said. “A lot of times kickers can put up 12 points in a game, but if a running back scores a touchdown, that’s what people are talking about. It’s all about being OK with what you do and having fun with kicking. It is a fun thing to do. That’s the key to handling the pressure.”

“I love being at a big school. Being a kicker can be tough. It was fun when I was starting my sophomore year, but then the Kentucky game hit,” Woznick said, referencing a missed 42-yard field goal against the Wildcats that year. “That wasn’t too fun, getting booed by about 80,000. Half of them don’t remember who it was, so that’s OK. I like it though. We’re both pretty blessed to be here.”

For now, they’re just enjoying life as teammates and roommates … most of the time.

“I’m really, really clean,” Buckhouse said, cocking his head at his teammate.

“Hey, I just forget to do the dishes sometimes,” Woznick deadpanned.

While it’s a unique coincidence that brought them together, after graduating from South Carolina, the two will likely take separate professional paths.

“I think I might try to go to med school and then maybe do orthopedics or focus on being a hand surgeon,” Buckhouse said.

 “It would be cool to learn Russian,” Woznick mused. “After school, I’d love to have a job doing things like Justin King in New and Creative Media. That’s a lot of work down the road. For now, I’m just enjoying being here.”