I heard Matt mention one special team concern this year might be punting and that the 4* punter from Alabama is being challenged by a walk on that was approached by the coaches and not vice versa and that we were last in the SEC in field position last year ? Matt said other than RM leaving this is about the only other concern he has heard of.
KSR talk this morning about Punting Concerns
- Thread starter maverick1rw
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The walk on may be Tyler Pack. Went to Johnson Central in Paintsville, KY. Hell of a kicker in HS. I think he holds the state record for longest punt or field goal, can't remember which.
He's like 6'4" 220lbs. Big kid.
He's like 6'4" 220lbs. Big kid.
113th nationally in field position last year.
Nowhere to go but up. One would think.
Nowhere to go but up. One would think.
Keep in mind Tim Masthay struggled his first year or so. Came out of HS as an accomplished kicker and was a good WR as well. I remember people wondering why he was not kicking as well as his billing. Believe he had some fundamental issues Brooks worked with him a lot on and the rest is history.
Pack was a Ray Guy All-American that holds both state kicking records. 89 yard punt and tied the previous record of a 58 yd FG then broke it with a 60 yd Free Kick. From what I have been able to put together is that he was offered a scholarship to Air Force and given the same deal UK offered by UNC, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech and Louisville to name a few. Really missed out on the exposure by opting not to do the Kohl's Kicking circuit but instead the Ray Guy camp. Good kid with a stout leg and has only been kicking for 3 years.
Our true freshman punter is inconsistent right now, but that's old news at this point. From what I've noticed lately, if KSR isn't hearing it straight from the press conferences, they're usually a couple of days or so behind on their news. At least, when it comes to football, that is the case.
If the walk-on is in fact Tyler Pack, then it should not come off as a surprise that McKinniss is being pushed by him. Pack has a helluva leg.
our bad field position last season was not completely the fault of the guy punting the football. bad offensive coordinator calling bad plays caused too many 3 & outs deep in our own side of the field. coupled with inconsistent special teams coverage unit play.
And in the other direction, we chose to return only 11 punts for 83 yards all year.
That we might not have a good punting year or good consistent punts this year that could put our defense in a worse position than it could be more often than not ? Just saying
Fair but it does not sound likes its because both are punting net 45+ yards constantly.
That's who is challenging Mckinnis----Kirshe is the walkon punter being referred to by Stoops, etc.
The less attention you pay to Matt Jones when he talks football the better off you will be... Quit listening months ago
This offense is going to put up 35 ppg the punter will have less chances than last year. Hopefully the usage being down helps special teams.
This is much more important than worrying about the defense...offensive ineptness has been our problem the last two years...not defense
I remember the EKU game being bad for punting which equaled great field position for the Colonels. Of course the D couldnt get any stops against them.
He is a true freshman. Wait til week 4 before we start making judgement on some of these young guys. The good news is that when he does get a hold of it he's booming them. So the leg is there.
We also threw 9 INTs that were caught or returned inside the wrong half of the 50, 5 returned inside the RZ.
Being last in field position doesn't surprise me, it would surprise me if were the other way around.... This is the one position on our team that worries me... We have a good kicker, but our punter shank more kicks than a pretty school girl.... He punted even worse when we were pinned down behind the 20 yard line.... We almost never made a clutch kick, or flip the field last year... This is one area that we need to improve on the most.... That and the defensive line could hold our future this year... I think we'll win 6 games regardless, but with those two positions playing well, I think we could win 8/9 games this year....
No other team waits 4 games on them.. They either produce, or move to the back of the line....
uga waited a whole season on matt stafford. UK beat them because he played so poorly. they could of played the older safer guy and won a couple more games but they let him take his lumps so he could be ready for the future.
lot of true freshmen play in college now a days. most make a lot of mistakes but the upside outweighs the mistakes or inconsistency. the punter will be an upgrade over last year. and if pack beats him out then he's even better.
not judging him at all...but I have been waiting and listening to "giving time" to this program for over forty years
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Jay Tesar...remember when he punted backwards?
he was an incredible kicker/ punter in high school