Kicker?

[Bama_Dawg]

Heck guys, at this point, I'd say go get our biggest lineman, tie the toe of his shoe back with the laces and straight on kick. 'Time we go old school.***

[Really Clark?]

To have 2 guys that only punt on scholarshjp at the same time is totally freakin' ridiculous. And I had no idea we have a long snapper on football scholarship. That's just goofy as well. We should have one punter and one FG kicker on scholly with one of those guys being able to handle kickoff duties as well and that's it.

Tenn, LSU, Ohio State, etc all signed a LS this week. And it's not uncommon for guys to walk on and earn scholly as a LS at nearly every program.

[maroonmania]

Tenn, LSU, Ohio State, etc all signed a LS this week. And it's not uncommon for guys to walk on and earn scholly as a LS at nearly every program.

Yea, if a guy walks on and shows his worth there I'm ok with giving that guy a scholarship. Still don't under stand the reasoning of signing a HS punter to a scholarship and then 2 years later another HS punter while totally neglecting the FG kicking spot.

[B4its2L8]

We have to remember that FG kickers have to have a different mindset. They have to be a bit squirrelly. Almost like a closer in baseball. Anyone can learn to kick FG's on a practice field, it's what they do with a crowd, when the game's on the line that counts. That's the problem with recruiting a high school kicker. I personally prefer the JUCO route, whether it's one or two years of JUCO experience. They are more mature, more seasoned, and have more experience kicking directly off the ground.

[B4its2L8]

this guy has a preferred walkon spot allegedly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PL_...ature=youtu.be

That's great news. I've seen this guy kick in high school and JUCO. He would be great in maroon, in either football or baseball (plays SS). He's the real deal, and still has 3 years of eligibility remaining. Whether it's the 51 yard FG he nailed (dead center and plenty of distance to spare) with 17 seconds left to force OT against Ridgeland in his last high school football game in 2013, or the 2 strike, 2 out, 2 RBI line drive single he hit in the top of the 7th (trailing by 1 at the time) to advance his high school baseball team to the next round of the playoffs. He's clutch, and lives for pressure situations. This differentiates him from some of our recent kickers, that don't seem to do too well under pressure. He's adjusted to kicking off the ground, without a block, without any problem.

He won just about every possible "1st Team" all-star award his senior year for BOTH football and baseball (Clarion Ledger, All-District, 5A All-State, MS All-Star Game, etc.). I know we're talking football, but MaxPreps shows he batted .421 his senior year, with a .521 on base %, playing SS in all 32 games. He has continued his dual sport career in the JUCO ranks, and is slated to be the starting SS this spring. I think the challenge will be to convince him to give up baseball and focus on football for just a Preferred Walk On offer. I figure how he does this spring in baseball will play a big role in his decision.

[sandwolf]

To have 2 guys that only punt on scholarshjp at the same time is totally freakin' ridiculous.

I believe that Cooke was signed as both a place kicker and a punter.

[blacklistedbully]

NFL History - Points Leaders

1 Morten Andersen 2,544
2 Gary Anderson 2,434
3 Jason Hanson 2,150
4 ADAM VINATIERI 2,146
5 John Carney 2,062
6 Matt Stover 2,004
7 George Blanda 2,002
8 Jason Elam 1,983
9 John Kasay 1,970
10 Norm Johnson 1,736
11 DAVID AKERS 1,721
12 Nick Lowery 1,711
13 Jan Stenerud 1,699
14 Ryan Longwell 1,687
15 Lou Groza 1,608
16 Eddie Murray 1,594
17 Al Del Greco 1,584
18 SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI 1,574
19 Olindo Mare 1,555
20 PHIL DAWSON 1,519


What pos. did these guys play?

Misleading in that kickers will always be up there due to fact they are getting far more opportunities than anyone else on the team. Even the worst kickers on teams are likely to be at or near the top of their team's "points leaders". Stands to reason then, that the all-time leaders would be kickers. They just have to be around long enough.

[MSUDawg4Life]

Misleading in that kickers will always be up there due to fact they are getting far more opportunities than anyone else on the team. Even the worst kickers on teams are likely to be at or near the top of their team's "points leaders". Stands to reason then, that the all-time leaders would be kickers. They just have to be around long enough.

That does not diminish the importance of having good kickers. Many times a missed field goal or extra point is the difference between winning and losing. We want every point a kicker can give us because that helps us win games. Period.

[War Machine Dawg]

I believe that Cooke was signed as both a place kicker and a punter.

So was Bell, and we all see how that's worked out. Neither had really kicked at all in HS. Thinking they can just transition from one to the other is ridiculous. It's a different skill set requiring different mechanics. Not to mention the mental aspects. Frankly, Mullen is totally incompetent when it comes to STs, because he apparently truly believes someone who has kicked maybe 5 FGs ever and has a huge leg punting can transition into a legit SEC kicker. Just go sign a JUCO K who's been doing it and has been kicking off the ground, dammit.

[War Machine Dawg]

That does not diminish the importance of having good kickers. Many times a missed field goal or extra point is the difference between winning and losing. We want every point a kicker can give us because that helps us win games. Period.

[MSUDawg4Life]

So was Bell, and we all see how that's worked out. Neither had really kicked at all in HS. Thinking they can just transition from one to the other is ridiculous. It's a different skill set requiring different mechanics. Not to mention the mental aspects. Frankly, Mullen is totally incompetent when it comes to STs, because he apparently truly believes someone who has kicked maybe 5 FGs ever and has a huge leg punting can transition into a legit SEC kicker. Just go sign a JUCO K who's been doing it and has been kicking off the ground, dammit.

Devin Bell can still kick the crap out of a ball. His problem is mental, not mechanics.

[maroonmania]

So was Bell, and we all see how that's worked out. Neither had really kicked at all in HS. Thinking they can just transition from one to the other is ridiculous. It's a different skill set requiring different mechanics. Not to mention the mental aspects. Frankly, Mullen is totally incompetent when it comes to STs, because he apparently truly believes someone who has kicked maybe 5 FGs ever and has a huge leg punting can transition into a legit SEC kicker. Just go sign a JUCO K who's been doing it and has been kicking off the ground, dammit.

Yes, and then leave him the heck alone before you screw him up!

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Who gets credit for Sobiesk then? No he didn't have the strong leg but he was money from 40 & in which is what yall are asking for. Who gets the pat on the back for that?

[maroonmania]

Devin Bell can still kick the crap out of a ball. His problem is mental, not mechanics.

One thing about FG kicking, it doesn't matter how far the ball goes if it doesn't go through those 2 yellow posts. Over the past umpteen years, how many FGs have we missed left or right compared to how many FGs have we missed short? Distance is not the primary issue so I really don't care about somebody that can kick the crap out of the ball. Just give me a guy that is consistent 45 yards and in and I am happy as a lark. Sobiesk was finally becoming that so I hate it worked out that we lost him with still 2 years of eligibility left.

[Bo Darville]

http://www.elitedawgs.com/showthread...H-Sobiesk-quit

I mentioned Reed James as a potential kicker last month (see above thread). The staff has talked with him.

[MSUDawg4Life]

One thing about FG kicking, it doesn't matter how far the ball goes if it doesn't go through those 2 yellow posts. Over the past umpteen years, how many FGs have we missed left or right compared to how many FGs have we missed short? Distance is not the primary issue so I really don't care about somebody that can kick the crap out of the ball. Just give me a guy that is consistent 45 yards and in and I am happy as a lark. Sobiesk was finally becoming that so I hate it worked out that we lost him with still 2 years of eligibility left.

Sobiesk wasn't kicking 45 yard field goals though. It seemed we were only comfortable with Sobiesk kicking 30 yards or less.

Bell has the leg to kick those 45 yarders and he can do it accurately. It just seems that the spotlight is too bright for him sometimes. But, he CAN do it. That was my point.

Maybe we need to get Tony Robbins to help Devin Bell get in his practice state of mind when it's time to kick in the game. And I'm only half joking about this ....

[smootness]

I think our ST problems are real yet a little overblown. As some have mentioned, we're very good at punting and in both coverage units. Those are important parts of ST.

And we have been better in the kicking game than some think. 2013 was rough for sure, but last year was pretty good. No, we haven't had any big-time kickers in a while, but our offense has become good enough that it isn't a huge negative for us.

And the return game is something that Mullen simply values fielding the ball cleanly and keeping possession more than he does the potential for a big return. Given the way the return game in college football has been reduced to only the occasional big return, I'm ok with that. And he did give guys a chance last year. He tried Graham there to give us an added dimension, and it bit us. So he switched to Ross, who is sure-handed while still having some ability to break one.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Sobiesk wasn't kicking 45 yard field goals though. It seemed we were only comfortable with Sobiesk kicking 30 yards or less.

Bell has the leg to kick those 45 yarders and he can do it accurately. It just seems that the spotlight is too bright for him sometimes. But, he CAN do it. That was my point.

Maybe we need to get Tony Robbins to help Devin Bell get in his practice state of mind when it's time to kick in the game. And I'm only half joking about this ....

I think that was more circumstance than anything on his fg lengths. No we didn't want him kicking many 45-50yd fg's but inside 45 he kicked all the 1's that he had the opportunity to kick. It's not like we had some 4th downs where we could kick inside 45yds & we went for it instead of not letting Sobes kick. It just turned out most of drives stalled inside of 35yds.

[LC Dawg]

I understand the points about having two punters on scholarship but it worked out pretty well for us during the Texas A&M game. Having Cooke available to punt and kickoff at the last minute avoided some potential disasters.

[Alldawg]

To have 2 guys that only punt on scholarshjp at the same time is totally freakin' ridiculous. And I had no idea we have a long snapper on football scholarship. That's just goofy as well. We should have one punter and one FG kicker on scholly with one of those guys being able to handle kickoff duties as well and that's it.

Who is the long snapper on scholarship? Reason I ask is my wife's second or third cousin was a long snapper and thought she said he was currently on the team. Always thought he was a walk on though.