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Kick Coverage, Week 2: Woo Pig Gloomy

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Kick Coverage, Week 2

Week 2 filled our plates with quite a balanced selection from the kicker buffet: long makes, the season’s first game-winner, and several heart-string pulling moments (both the good and bad kind).

The story of the weekend was what happened down in Fayetteville, in which a 22-year old kicker became a scapegoat for a fanbase’s collective decades of frustration (more on that nonsense below).

Fortunately, the rest of Kickerville represented well with a number of performances that hopefully serve as a sampling of a greater kicking feast to come.

Let me know anything I missed in the comments or on Twitter at @cfbkickerstats.

Kicker of the Week:

Matt Ammendola, Oklahoma State – 3/4 FG: 31, 53, 48; 5/5 XPs

If you happened to tune into the Friday night tilt between Oklahoma State and South Alabama in Mobile, you saw a great kicking performance from Matt Ammendola.

Playing his first full season with FG duties, the redshirt sophomore opened the game’s scoring early in the first with a 31-yard make. That and a 42-yard miss served as a warm up for what was to come, a 53-yard boom from near the left hash to all but close out the half:

https://youtu.be/q8IiNq5156I?t=1h1m1s

Ammendola would then make a 48-yarder in the fourth while also going 5/5 on extra points.

The 53-yarder tied his career-long, set against Central Michigan last season in what was his very first college FGA.

Extra Points:

1) After attempting 0 FGs during the season opener against Ohio State, Indiana’s Griffin Oakes made up for lost time by tallying makes from 51 and 49 yards on Saturday against Virginia. The first of those successful kicks was the 54th of his Hoosier career, giving him sole possession of the school record. It was also the second longest field goal in Oakes’ career.

2) Compared to most of their teammates, many kickers take a pretty roundabout route to getting on scholarship. While some earn theirs during a spring or fall camp ritual, Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship was given his in a private meeting with head coach Kirby Smart last Thursday. There, the redshirt sophomore was told that his wait was finally over. Having been committed to UGA since December of his senior year of high school, Blankenship celebrated the news by hitting a 30-yarder that with 3:13 left that gave the Dawgs the lead and eventual 20-19 win over Notre Dame. Things became even more festive in the post-game celebrations when Smart had Blankenship share his news with the entire locker room:

3) The Longball Leaderboard below would look completely different if kickers from FCS, Div. II, and Div. III schools were included. Three players in FCS have been successful on attempts from 52 yards or longer this season, including a 56-yarder from Northern Colorado’s Collin Root. But the longest kick of the year in any division belongs to Division II Minnesota State’ Mankato’s Casey Bednarski, who drilled this laser-guided 63 yarder on Saturday against Minnesota Crookston:
[stag_video src=”https://youtu.be/26er7LV1yOs”]

Bednarski’s bomb established a school and conference record.

Doink of the Week:

Arkansas’ Cole Hedlund had a…bad Saturday, missing from 20 and 23 yards out. While the shorter of the two might be one of the loudest misses on record, the real doinks of the weekend are the Arkansas fans that decided to tweet sub-human things a 22-year old college kid (courtesy to SEC Country for compiling):

No word if clowns like these (there were many more) also tweeted every member on the Hogs’ impotent offense, or on the defense that allowed TCU go 10-for-14 on third downs. While head coach Bret Bielema’s decision to pull the kicker from duty is understandable, the heart still feels for Hedlund. The former Chris Sailer National Placekicker of the year is a perfect 91-91 in his career on extra points, but just 14-24 on field goals. Lefty Connor Limpert is expected to take over the field goal role for the Week 3 showdown with Texas A&M.

Way-Too-Early Groza Predictions: 

I haven’t looked back in enough detail to get an exact idea of what the Groza voting panel seems to like most in their finalist nominations, but I imagine it’s usually some combination of merit within that individual season (with an emphasis on range and consistency), players that would bring interesting storylines to the award, and a ‘lifetime achievement’ factor for upperclassmen that just have good careers, but just haven’t been able to put together a season that gets themselves over the top.

Given those, I imagine if votes were due today the top three might look something like:

  1. Quinn Nordin, Michigan (6/8 FGs, 7/7 XPs, 2x 50+)
  2. Matt Gay, Utah (7/7 FGs, 5/5 Xps, Lng 49)
  3. Matt Ammendola, Oklahoma State (4/6 FGs, 13/13 XPs, Lng 53)

Long Ball Leaderboard Through Week 2:

By next week, the minimum distance to make the list very well may be 50 already. This week, Ammendola and Oakes joined Nordin as the only others to occupy two spots on the leaderboard.

[table id=lw2 /]

Kicker Survivor Leaderboard Through Week 2:

Of the 128 kickers that have recorded at least one FGA this season, just the 44 below remain perfect (34%). Nordin (Michigan) and Jameson Vest (Toledo) had streaks of four before missing, ranking them ahead of many others but also making winning an impossibility.

[table id=SurvivorsW2 /]

Game Winners (Under 1:00 to play) :

I admittedly wasn’t sure what should qualify as a ‘game winner’, but decided that 1:00 remaining or less was good enough after Temple’s Aaron Boumerhi’s 49-yarder gave the Owls a late lead and eventual win over cross-town rivals Villanova:

[stag_video src=”https://youtu.be/Hbyr_ynv8Yw?t=2m1s”]

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Kick Coverage, Week 1: Heirs Made Apparent, Others Transparent

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Kick Coverage, Week 1

The first real week of the 2017 season was undoubtedly great, the kicking scene included.

At schools like Alabama and Utah, murky kicker situations became clear after de facto audition processes. Elsewhere, freshmen and other first-time starters made strong cases that they might become even better than their decorated predecessors.

Many relative unknown kickers also dazzled, including one that fell several school records on one kick. Conversely, several of the pre-season Groza favorites already have blemishes on their stat-lines already.

But thankfully, there’s still plenty of games to be played (and kicks to be made). And for that, I can’t wait—welcome back, college football.

If I ever miss something cool, let me know in the comments.

Kicker of the Week:

Quinn Nordin, Michigan – 4/6 FG: 55, 50, 30, 25; 3/3 XPs

Nordin, the freshman that Jim Harbaugh famously slept with in January (phrasing?), announced his arrival to college football loud and clear on Saturday against Florida.

After warming up with a 25-yard make on Michigan’s first drive, Harbaugh wasted no time testing his redshirt freshman’s leg on a 55-yarder that literally couldn’t have been any closer of a make:

In the third quarter, Nordin added 30 and 50-yarders to his tally on the day. He then missed on attempts from 52 and 32, but went 3/3 on PATs in the 33-17 win over Florida.

Hitting the two 50+ers marks the first time any Michigan kicker has accomplished the feat, and the greater of the two stands as the season’s longest in the nation so far (see below).

Nordin, who sports a Ricky Vaughn-buzz in honor of his closer role, was a three-star recruit and Rivals’ top-rated kicker in the class of 2016. Before making headlines for Harbaugh’s relentless pursuit of him, Nordin first caught college football’s attention for the 65-yarder he hit at Kornblue Kicking Camp. He is, without a doubt, the extremely early Groza favorite.

Extra Points:

1) No kicker in the nation has bigger shoes to fill than Arizona State’s Brandon Ruiz. In his first game taking over for most recent Lou Groza winner and all-time NCAA field goal leader Zane Gonzalez, Ruiz wasted little time in showing he was more than worthy. After missing on a 56-yarder, the freshman hit a 52-yard bomb that was crucial in the Sun Devils 37-31 escape of New Mexico State:

I don’t know anything about kicking mechanics and don’t pretend to, but I know that Ruiz leaves me mesmerized as to how he generates so much power off what seems like such a short approach.

2) It looks like Andy Gay won the Utah kicker job in a trial by fire during the Ute’s 37-16 win over FCS North Dakota. True freshman Chayden Johnston was trotted out first to try a 45-yarder in the first quarter, which he missed. That prompted Kyle Whittingham to call Gay’s name for the next attempt, a 33-yarder which was successful. Senior Gay got the call twice more on the day, finishing a perfect 3/3 FG (33, 32, 49) and 4/4 XP.

3) Lane Kiffin’s best player in Florida Atlantic’s 42-19 loss to Navy just might have been Greg Joseph. A former walk-on, Joseph broke three school records with a single kick. The 54-yarder he hit in the third was not only the longest in FAU’s history, but also made him the Owls’ all-time leading scorer and field goal kicker. He also made one from 24 to go 2/2 on the day.

Doink of the Week:

Cincinnati senior Andrew Gantz did not have a good start to his 2017 season. Another UC student did, however:

Week 2 Kicker Matchup To Watch: 

Greg Joseph (Florida Atlantic)

6-1, 210 lbs
Senior
Boca Raton, FL

This Season: 2-2 (100%)
Career: 44/63 (69.8%):
Longest make: 54

Tale of the Tape: Four-year starter Joseph already reserved a place in FAU’s record books (see above), now he’ll spend the rest of the season cementing it. Saturday’s 54-yard bomb was a personal best, surpassing the 50-yard mark he set for himself last year against FIU. The former MaxPrep.com All-American and All-State soccer player has improved his FG% steadily the past three seasons (60.4%, 62.9%, 64.7%) and based on the leg he showed in Week 1, a run at All-CUSA honors wouldn’t be out of the question.

VS.

Rafael Gaglianone (Wisconsin)

5-11, 232 lbs
Junior
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Kohl’s Ranking: #5, Class of 2014
ESPN.com, Scout: ***

This Season: 1-1 (100%)
Career: 45/58 (77.5%)
Longest make: 51

Tale of the Tape: Joseph’s Owls will go to Camp Randall to face Rafael Gaglianone’s Wisconsin squad. The Brazillian missed most of last season with a back injury, but not before going 7-8 on field goals (including 4-4 from 40-49). That start looked like a return to form from his freshman year when he tied the UW record with 14 consecutive FGMs, went 19-22 overall (87.5%), including 2-3 from 50+. He hasn’t been called on to try a shot that long in two years now, but wouldn’t be out of the possibility if the UW offense stalls on Saturday in Madison, where the forecast calls for clear skies and calm winds.

Long Ball Leaderboard Through Week 1:

The cut to make the top 15 longest list has risen to 44 yards already. Nordin is not only the only player listed twice, he’s also the only kicker in the country to make two FGs from 40 or further on the season.

[table id=lw1 /]

Kicker Survivor Leaderboard Through Week 1:

Lots of big names eliminated already and the winner of the inaugural Kicker Survivor contest may be a complete surprise (especially to the winner themselves, who has no idea this exists).

Of the 106 kickers that have recorded an FGA this season, 50 (47%) have missed at least once already, with the overwhelming majority missing their first attempt of the season. The average distance on eliminating attempts was a respectable 41.72 yards.

[table id=SW1 /]

Game Winners:

Still none in FBS. Ball State’s Morgan Hagee had his 54-yard game-winning attempt blocked as time expired at Illinois, as did Georgia Tech’s Shawn Davis, which led to the Yellow Jackets’ demise in 2OT against Tennessee.

There was also this nice 32-yarder from Nicholl State’s Lorran Fonseca to defeat rivals Mayor McCheese McNeese State:

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Kick Coverage, Week 0: Wyatt Bryan Is Your Early Groza Favorite

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Kick Coverage, Week 0

Welcome to the first weekly Kick Coverage update. As a general college football fan, Week 0 feels like a big, mean cocktease. As a first-time (well, since grade school) college football blogger guy thing, it’s a welcome ease-in to me figuring out what the hell I’m doing.

If I ever miss something cool, let me know in the comments.

Kicker of the Week:

Wyatt Bryan was called upon three times on Saturday and made as many field goals in Colorado State’s 58-27 rout of Oregon State. The junior left head coach Mike Bobo with no regrets about recently awarding him a full scholarship, nailing the week’s longest FG in all of kicker nation, a 41-yarder from the right hash (click the video to jump straight to it).

[stag_video src=”https://youtu.be/mpC0JAJFU9k?t=1h45s”]

Bryan’s earlier successful attempts were from 23 and 25. The Larkspur, Colorado native went 11/14 in 2016.

Extra Points:

1. Bryce Crawford and the rest of San Jose State had a rough Saturday against South Florida. After putting the day’s first score on the board with a 34-yard, Crawford had two PATs blocked in the Spartans’ come-from-ahead loss.

2. Stanford sophomore Jet Toner no doubt impressed Aussie Rules scouts (I know that joke doesn’t exactly land but it’s all I got) during his busy day down under. In addition to a 2/2 FG mark (from 40 and 34), Toner hit all 8 PATs in the Cardinal’s 62-7 drying out of Rice.

3. Speaking of Aussies, a 29-yard make from sophomore Ryan Meskell pulled Hawaii within five late in the fourth quarter against UMass. The Rainbow Warriors would eventually score in the game’s final minute, giving them a three-point victory. For the former semi-pro soccer goalkeeper, it was his first official FG attempt and make in American football. No word how is ha’a is coming along.

Week 1 Kicker Matchup To Watch: 

Andy Pappanastos and/or J.K. Scott and/or Joseph Bulovas (Alabama)

VS.

Ricky Aguayo (Florida St.)

6-2, 196 lbs
Sophomore
Mascotte, FL
Kohl’s Ranking: #3, Class of 2016

This Season: 0-0
Career: 19/26 (73.1%): 0-0 (1-19); 5-5 (20-29); 30-39 (7-7); 40-49 (7-13); 50+ (0-1)
Longest make: 47

The Predecessor versus an Unknown Debutant, Punter, and/or True Freshman. Nick Saban had three kickers listed on the depth chart he put out Monday, and some seem to think it will be a platoon situation with Scott taking the kickoffs and long field goals, Pappanastos handling the shorter ones, and Bulovas only taking the field if Bama has a sizable lead. Scott has been the Tide’s punter since 2014, but was recruited as a three-star kicker and allegedly just missed a 73-yarder in high school. Pappanastos transferred to Alabama as a redshirt junior ahead of the 2016 season from Ole Miss. In Oxford he appeared in just three games, taking a few PATs, a kickoff, and missing his lone FG opportunity.

Aguayo on the other hand, we know all about. ‘I Water’ (as his name translates into English) is the younger brother of one Roberto, current Chicago Bears kicker and one of the greatest the NCAA has ever seen. After going 6-6 in FGs in the season opener, Aguayo had some struggles in 2016, including having his final kick of the season (a PAT) blocked and returned for a safety in the Orange Bowl.

If both defenses are as good as advertised we should have plenty of opportunities to see not two, not three, but maybe four or even five kickers in action. Being played in Atlanta United’s fancy new home, it will also be good conditions for some long trys.

Kicker Survivor Leaderboard Through Week 0:

Two have already left us on Kicker Survivor island. That’s about 1% less the amount of stats I have to look up from here on out.

[table id=4 /]

Long Ball Leaderboard Through Week 0:

After 0 weeks of football, Bryan is the early favorite to win both the Groza as well as the coveted Longballer of the Year title. Can he go wire to wire?

[table id=3 /]

Game Winners:

None, yet.

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Kick Coverage, 2017 Pre-Season Edition

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Kick Coverage, 2017 Pre-Season Edition

If things go well this season, I’d love to do some of sort big college football kicker season preview that includes projections based on the previous seasons’ numbers. For now, I thought I’d much less scientifically give a rundown of the Groza’s pre-season watch list and give my finalist predictions.

Lou Groza Watchlist

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission released their Lou Groza Award watchlist in mid-July.

The criteria for inclusion was all 14 returning kickers that made at least 20 field goals last year, the six kickers (not including overlap from the previous category) that attempted at least 15 field goals with 84%+ success, and three kickers (not including overlap) that hit multiple 50+ yards. Given that there were 28 senior kickers lost to graduation last season, this list of 30 encompasses about 30% of returning FBS kickers. Not that these lists mean anything of course–when it comes time for the shortlist there’s no ‘penalty’ to including a freshman starlet or someone else that didn’t make the pre-season list.

For now, this not-so-exclusive club looks like:

  • Ricky Aguayo (So.), FSU
  • Matt Anderson (Sr.), CAL
  • Stevie Artigue (Jr.), ULL
  • Michael Badgley (Sr.), MIA
  • Jonathan Barnes (Sr.), LT
  • John Baron II (Jr.), SDSU
  • Aaron Boumehri (So.), TEM
  • Drew Brown (Sr.), NEB
  • Daniel Carlson (Sr.), AUB
  • Emmit Carpenter (Jr.), MINN
  • Bryce Crawford (Jr.), SJSU
  • Blanton Creque (So.), LOU
  • Tyler Davis (Sr.), PSU
  • Clayton Hatfield (Jr.), TTU
  • Greg Huegel (Jr.), CLEM
  • Redford Jones (Sr.), TLSA
  • Kody Kroening (Sr.), FRES
  • Austin MacGinnis (Sr.), UK
  • Tommy Openshaw (Sr.), VAN
  • Eddy Pineiro (Jr.), FLA
  • Canton Rooker (Sr.), MTSU
  • Jason Sanders (Sr.), UNM
  • Parker Shaunfield (Jr.), USM
  • Skyler Simcox (Jr.), WKU
  • Joey Slye (Sr.), VTECH
  • Luke Strebel (Sr.), AFA
  • Mike Weaver (Sr.), WF
  • Matthew Wright (Jr.), UCF
  • Gary Wunderlich (Sr.), MISS
  • Louie Zervos (So.), OHIO

For those keeping score at home, that makes the list comprised of 16 seniors, 10 juniors, and three sophomores. Sixteen players represent Power 5 schools while the remaining 14 play in G5 conferences. Breakdown by conference looks like:

  • ACC: 6
  • SEC: 5
  • Mountain West: 5
  • Conference USA: 4
  • American: 3
  • Big 10: 3
  • Big 12: 1
  • MAC: 1
  • PAC12: 1

In the past decade, just one non-P5 kicker has claimed the ‘Groz (Tulane’s Cairo Santos in 2012).

Carlson seems to be the odds on favorite to win the award this season, having been a Finalist the past two. A third trip to Palm Beach County would make him the first kicker to ever be a three-time Finalist. Twelve of the kickers have been named semi-finalists (top 20) in previous seasons. Just Johnny Barnes and Joey Slye have made it to the semis twice of that group.

Pseudo-scientific Finalist Predictions: 

Since I don’t yet know the lay of the kicking landscape enough to project too much here, I decided to comprise my list simply off the highest returning kicker in FG%, in kicks beyond 40+*, and one wild card pick. That leaves me with:

Gary Wunderlich (Sr.), Ole Miss

Wunderlich had a breakout season last year, his accuracy shooting from 76% to 95.7% from his sophomore to junior year. He hit a 49 yarder against Auburn and missed his one and only 50+ attempt. Assuming his range has improved even just a little this offseason, I think the same kind of accuracy with a few long makes will see him dressing fancy in December.

Per LouGrozaAward.com: Wunderlich is the only returning FBS kicker who attempted double-digit field goals without missing a kick within 50 yards. Even with the long-range miss, his 95.7% accuracy rate is best among returning kickers with double-digit attempts.  

Daniel Carlson (Sr.), Auburn

The returning kicker with the most 50+ yard makes last season and second-longest FG (53), as well the below accolades. For what it’s worth (nothing), he’s also the AP’s preseason All-American selection.

Per LouGrozaAward.com: A finalist in both 2015 and 2016, Carlson is hoping the third time is the charm to take home the Groza. The nation’s active leader in career field goals (69), he led the nation in field goals per game last season. He has yet to miss a PAT in his career, a stretch of 141 straight that is the second-longest in SEC history.

Louie Zervos (So.), Ohio

Zervos balled hard last season, setting the NCAA record for kicks made by a freshman. Ohio kicked more field goals than anyone else in the MAC last season, and Z rose to the occasion hitting his 35 attempts at an 84% clip. He has a leg too, making at least six beyond 45 last season by my rough count. Bill Connelly’s S&P+ projects the Bobcat offense to be bad again this year, likely giving the sophomore even more opportunities to make the panel take notice.

Per LouGrozaAward.com: Simply put, Zervos led all FBS kickers with his 29 made field goals. That mark is the second-highest FBS single-season total in the last five years. He started off hot, going 4-for-5, 5-for-5, and 4-for-4 in the first three games of the season. His 21 made FGs from at least 30 yards are tied with two-time Groza finalist Daniel Carlson for the most by a returning kicker.

***Predicted Winner: Daniel Carlson*** 

I know it’s supposed to be a merit-based award, but if Carlson has a season good enough to get him back to the ceremony (and neither of the other nominees didn’t have exceptionally better seasons), I can see the panel giving him the Groza as a sort of lifetime achievement award.

*Technically Carlson is tied Florida’s Eddy Pineiro for makes beyond 40+ yards last season, but given Carlson’s familiarity by now with the faces at the PBCSC, I gave him the nod. Also, I’m guessing three players invited from the same conference would be unlikely to happen.

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