Zip Watcher Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 I have to say that I'm feeling pretty good about the new punter. Punting from the goal line in the rain against PSU on the road in your first appearance .. are you kidding me? No blocks. No fumbled punt attempts.Nice game Mr. Stec .. good start to a career. Seems like you had better luck early when they came after you. In the second half, PSU called of the dogs because you showed some mettle & resolve. I think the open backfield caught you off guard in the second half, but that's what next week's for: improvement.Anyone who has concerns about how Stec performed should have seen the BG game tonight at Brown's stadium. BG is in the game with a chance to win if they had a punter / punting team. One block recovered in the endzone for a TD, and a lame duck punt returned 35 yards to the 1, TD 3 or 4 plays later. 14 points on crappy punting. That put Wisc up 28-14 and put it out of reach.Both kickers looked good to me in difficult conditions. That 40+ yarder from the PK was money in the first half! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fear the brown roo Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 that extra point looked good to you? i wouldn't say either young guy played great but it was a first game for both. a first game vs. penn state, at that. both will settle down and be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UADavid Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 Our punter had an ok game, but he did not cleanly catch the snap at least twice. The field goal was a nice surprise and the extra points should improve as the season unfolds. The special teams though did not have a good game as a whole. Missed tackles, fumbles and what was Tuzze thinking on the kickoff. He shouldn't even have caught that ball and after he did he stopped. All of these problem areas can be improved quickly and I'm sure this weeks practice will feature special teams work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liljc Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 I was on the edge on my seat every time a kicker ran onto the field. These kids will get it together. A lot was asked of them yesterday. Bad weather, 111,000 people and neither one had ever kicked in a game before. All in all, not too bad, I guess. Just catch the ball, first from now on. (Everyone but Tuzze, that is!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippyrifle32 Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 i was disappointed to see the punter drop the snap, but was impressed that he was able to pick it up and get it off, only to be completely leveled in midair by a psu guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 i was disappointed to see the punter drop the snap, but was impressed that he was able to pick it up and get it off, only to be completely leveled in midair by a psu guy. That happened twice that game. I was impressed that he had that much poise under pressure to be able to get off two dropped snaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozips19 Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 stec will be fine... not so sure about domonkos and does anyone have an update on igor's back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipsrifle Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 It was Stec's first game, in a hostile environment. The kids is what, 18 years old. I think he did fine. Ball was wet, guys on the other side of the line are twice as big as the ones that usually are on the other side of the line. What I liked the best was his hustle after the kick. He was down there trying to put a helmet on someone, not being a wuss about it. We've had some pretty good kickers/punters over the past few years and I think Stec/Dominkos will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 Speaking of freshmen punters...does anyone out there remember, or have heard the story told by your Dad (!).. the story of the Stupidest Freshman Punter Story of Them All??? The name Kevin Kendall is burned into history for all those who saw him commit what must have been (one of?) the stupidest serious of blunders in the history of college football one fateful day versus -- I'm almost certain it was -- Morehead State in 1983.Here's the Readers Digest version: About :20 to play in the first half, Akron's ball, fourth and very long on MSU's 40 YL. Coach Dennison calls his freshman punter from Green (we Bulldog alums have an even bigger hole in our stomachs from this one) to his side -- and no doubt from the ensuing debacle -- tells the kid "Don't kick the ball. Just run around until the clock runs out." What Dennison forgot to note was the age and inexperience of his young special teamer, and that he may not know what to do AFTER the clock runs out. The ball is snapped and Kendall handles it perfectly. He stands there, so far, so good. The clock runs -- :15; :10; :05. But then, he remembers he's never been in this position before, and the coach didn't tell him what to do AFTER the clock runs out -- and he panics! The defense, till this point went along with Akron's plans perfectly -- no rush, just standing, waiting for the whistle and the run into the locker room. The clock runs to :00. Kendall continues to stand there with the ball, wondering what to do next. Finally, a couple Morehead linemen trot throught the line, expecting the punter to fall down, or at worst be tackled to end the half.But young Mr Kendall has something more interesting to offer the few thousand spectators at the bowl. He turns and runs away from the line of scrimmage, slowly at first, as no one is following him. Ten or fifteen seconds after the clock runs to zero, a couple Morehead State players run after him -- finally -- from his own 40, he's now being semi-furiously chased down as he continues running toward his own end zone! The rushers finally get near him as he passes his 20, then the 10. Hundreds in the stands are screaming, "Fall down! Fall down" (yes there must have been a few YOU IDIOTs thrown in, but exact words are lost in time). A Morehead defender comes oh so close to tackling Kendall inside the five yard line. Amazingly, this would have been the best possible scenario at this point! Kid gets a good talking to about poise in the locker room, and he doesn't quite have a story to tell his grandkids.I believe Kendall may have played QB at Green, or some other position besides punter, so he has SOME athletic ability -- too bad! He manages to just miss the shoestring tackle by one defender near his own goal line. But there's one more Morehead defender bearing down on him now, and just as Kendall runs into his end zone, he panics one more time -- the worst time for him -- and as he's about to go down in the end zone, he tosses the ball into the air -- ala Garo Yepremian in the Super Bowl!!!Well, at least the good thing is no Morehead State defender was there to pick the ball off and score a half-ending TD before the ball flutters to the Astro Turf. And so both teams trot off the field, and everyone gets a good laugh before the bands march onto the field. But -- after the halftime entertainment that couldn't match what preceded it -- just before the teams run back onto the field, the public address speaker announces: "Ladies and gentlemen, on the final play of the first half, the referee has determined that intentional grounding occured in the end zone, resulting in a safety for Morehead State." I think Akron still lead, maybe 17-16 or something like that, and went on to win by more than a touchdown I think. But imagine, if they had lost by two points or less! Kevin Kendall went on to be one of the better punters in UA history -- four letter-winning seasons. His story is one I haven't heard, or been able to tell for years now. It's part of Akron football lore. Are you out there Kevin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 Z.I.P., I had forgottem all about that play until now. You gotta remember that these guys are just kids and you never know what might happen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckzip Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 PK missed an XP. Nice field goal though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno aka Menace Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 Wow! I can't believe that story!....Man I am sorry no matter how old you are you gotta have some basic level of football knowledge to know better. DAMN :blink: I feel sorry for the guy, I am sure he got ridiculed by fans and his team for that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipsrifle Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 THAT WAS GREAT!!! I never heard of that one before. Classic!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipsrifle Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 I think that little memory should go into the HOF! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckzip Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 I think you mean HOS. Hall of Shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fear the brown roo Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 stec was shaky but i gotta admit, he's the man for trying to make tackles and for not totally collapsing after dropping two snaps. not bad for an 18 yr old freshman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 Z.I.P., I had forgottem all about that play until now. You gotta remember that these guys are just kids and you never know what might happen! I tried not to be to "ridiculous" about this story -- and I know I may have missed or exaggerated things -- e.g., it's possible the defenders never got as close as I described to tackling him. Twenty + years plays havoc with the mind. Is there anyone else reading who was there that day? I always wanted to talk to Dennison about that, but never met him. Bowling Green fans have their own "Stupid punter story", which I read on the MAC listserve years ago. It doesn't match the epic of Kevin Kendall, however. This one should be brought out along with the pumpkin pie and or eggnog during the holidays each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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