Quote Originally Posted by thf24 View Post
DePasquale was solid for most of his career as well. We haven't had an All-Conference deadeye type in a very long time (not exactly common for anyone... remember Bama's kicking situation a few years ago?), but let's not pretend like our place kicking situation has been a steaming pile of shit going on decades. It's simply a hard position to evaluate for anyone, especially since you can usually only afford to allot, absolute best case, a few scholarships to it. Has Mullen not put enough emphasis on it in the past? Very possibly. Hopefully he's coming around on that since he's now shelling out a scholarship for it, but again, let's not pretend like the position has been a complete void throughout his tenure.
It is amazing what making or missing a clutch game winning kick does for people's memories about the efficiency of a kicker. I think the biggest argument you could make is that our kickers have not had the range to attempt long field goals and that has hampered our decision making, but let's look at career FG%:

Brian Hazelwood made 58.9% of his FG at State - but is revered for '97 & '98 game winners.
Scott Westerfield hit 71.4%
Westin Graves hit 68.4%
Devin Bell hit 63.6%
Derek D hit 76.2%
Sobiesk hit 75% - His leaving after '14 with 2 years of eligibility really hurt.

So all of Mullen's kickers were statistically better than Hazelwood and half were better than Westerfield (probably recognized as our best ever).

The big issue was not having someone who could back up Graves so he kicked all year injured.