The 2014 Kickers & Punters

[ST_Lawson]

I know I originally said I'd do Defensive Linemen today, but it works out better with my schedule to do the kicking team today, then do all of the defense over the next 3 days during the week.

The kickers this year are:
#33 Nathan Knuffman - Sophomore Kicker from Coatsburg, IL
#49 Ryan Mulhern - R-Freshman Kicker from Naperville, IL
#31 Luke Otto - Freshman Punter from Normal, IL

As most people who were paying attention last year noticed, our kicking was a problem area through the course of last season.
Last year, Knuffman was the only kicker who played (as near as I can tell from last year's stats), doing FGs, XPs, as well as punts and kickoffs.
He was 3 for 8 on field goals, hitting from 28 yards and 37 yards (twice).
On extra points, he was 30 for 34.
Punting average was 35.2 yards, with a long of 65, on 74 attempts with 21 inside the 20 yard line.
He averaged 59.9 yards on kickoffs with 8 touchbacks on 50 attempts.

I think that a large part of the issues with kicking was that we were essentially asking one guy to do two jobs. Most teams have two players do this job...a primary kicker, and a primary punter (and usually they can back each other up if necessary). Forcing a player to do the job of both positions often ends up making it difficult to get really good at either (for reference, see the failed Devin Hester as WR experiment the Bears did a few years ago).

I'm not exactly sure what the plan is with the kickers, whether we have one of the two kickers (Knuffman and Mulhern) do placekicking and the other do punting while redshirting Otto...or do we just go ahead and push Otto into service as the primary punter, with Knuffman and Mulhern competing for the starting kicker position? I hate not redshirting a true freshman when they can take the extra year to get more familiar with the system and get more experience, but I think that it probably matters less for a kicker (it's a little easier to learn all the plays when you're a kicker), and I think the benefits of having another player and being able to have them specialize is more important at this point.

My guess is that Knuffman and Mulhern compete for the starting job for XPs and FGs, and Otto is the primary punter. Not sure about kickoffs, since they "work" similarly to placekicking, but often teams will have punters do that job because the leg strength is a more important factor.

What are your thoughts on the kicking situation?

[sealhall74]

That Oklahoma kicker is doomed. He has no plan B, and C on his IPad. I.E., what happens when snap goes awry and he ends up with ball in his hands? All kickers must be prepared for that because it will happen. Hoping our guys are mastering their As, Bs, and Cs. Please, no "deer in headlights" looks when things don't go according to plan.

[WIU0812]

I completely agree with ST that kicking needs to be separate of punting. Hopefully we can get that figured out and this years special teams will not be our downfall. We need to not be afraid to kick a field goal within 40 yards and have the confidence that we will make every XP and not be forced to go for two since we have about the same amount of chance of getting two points as we do making an extra point.

[ST_Lawson]

That Oklahoma kicker is doomed. He has no plan B, and C on his IPad. I.E., what happens when snap goes awry and he ends up with ball in his hands? All kickers must be prepared for that because it will happen. Hoping our guys are mastering their As, Bs, and Cs. Please, no "deer in headlights" looks when things don't go according to plan.

Hehe, yea, that's true. Although still, the full playbook for a kicker is going to be quite a bit smaller than someone starting on O or D.
You've probably got one plan for XP's and short kicks, one for mid-distance, and one for long-distance (kick is going to usually be lower and more of a "line drive" to get the distance it needs).
Then you've probably got a backup running play and backup passing play...in case of "broken" plays. Also there's probably a couple of fake kick plays, for when they intend to fake and pass or run.

So, you're looking at maybe 10-ish plays?

Shouldn't be too difficult for someone who's played football at any level to learn that many plays, I'd imagine.

[ST_Lawson]

Apologies to Mr. Burkhardt, but I forgot to include him in the kicking team (sorting by position stuck him down with the LBs).

#57 Gabe Burkhardt - Freshman Long Snapper from Plainfield, IN
There's no photo on the athletics website and they don't mention anything about his previous playing awards and stuff from HS, but on his twitter account, it says he'll also be playing baseball for us as well.

Here's his twitter account:
[twitteruser]gburk18, 503892710944550912[/twitteruser]