Is Georgia the Real “Kicker U”?
I was going to post this last year and never did. Now, as of yesterday, I am working the Georgia Kicking Camp next Tuesday June 1st. Dax Langley is running the camp. It will be great to see him.
Ole’ Bill King of Junkyard Blawg fame or infamy depending on who’s posting, was apparently short on material one day. He posed the question that I am sure was on everyone’s mind at the time. Who is the best kicker in Georgia history?
I have no delusions on this one and actually posted a vote. UGA has had it’s share of successful kickers, whether on the college level or in the NFL. But is Georgia the true Kicker U?
I had to know!
Here is my UGA list:
Bobby Etter – Falcons – 1968, 1969
Alan Leavitt -All-America 1976 - Buccaneers – 1978?
Rex Robinson – All American 1979-1980 - Patriots – 1982
Kevin Butler – All American 1983-84 – Bears, Cardinals 1985-1997?
John Kasay – Seahawks, Panthers – 1990-Present – Holy Crap!
Todd Petersen – Giants, Seahawks, Falcons – 1991- 2005?
Billy Bennett – NCAA leader in FG’s (87)
Brandon Coutu – Seahawks – 2008
Blair Walsh – Lou Groza Finalist 2009
Who will be next? We may see him Tuesday.
Any guesses of the other Kicker U? The University of California-Berkeley
Ray Wershing – 49er’s – 1973-1987
Jim Breech- Bengals – 1978-1992
Mick Luckhurst – Falcons – 1981-1987(could have been longer)
Doug Brien – 49ers, Saints, Jets, Bucs, Colts, Bears -1994-2005
Ryan Longwell – Packers, Vikings – 1997-present
That’s a pretty strong group, but a couple of the guys I thought went to UC, Berkeley actually went to other California schools. Frank Corrale went to UCLA. So maybe UGA does out- shine Cal. It has been an amazing run for those who wanted to be a part of a great group of guys at Georgia.
Kickers? Different? Well yeah, you have to be to do what we do. It’s hard to put a finger on what came first. Crazy people being drawn to kick or kicking making them that way. Either way, you have to have a different mindset or you will be cuckoo for cocoa puffs.
As I mentioned earlier, I cast my vote on AJC.com. As much as I love the young guys, Kevin Butler is still the man. But who was the man that made the man, wanna be the man. Hmmm? Yeah, that’s right. lol. If you look, Kevin is still ranked #3 in career field goals and #4 in kick scoring in SEC history, nearly 25 years later!
Throw-up Thursdays – Georgia Bulldog Style!
The highlighted section is a linked excerpt to David Hale’s blog.
For the second straight year, Georgia’s kickoffs have been an adventure, but this season there is one big difference: Richt has an alternative to kicker Blair Walsh.
The Bulldogs signed junior college transfer Brandon Bogotayduring the offseason to push Walsh for the kickoff job, and while a change hasn’t come yet, Richt said the team has given some thought to handing the job to Bogotay if Walsh continues to struggle.
First of all, it’s the kick-off coverage that is the adventure.
Many of you have left positive comments on my attempts to be frank and honest about issues concerning Georgia Football. I do try, but I bite my tongue quite often.
I am sure many of you will understand my growing disdain for any coach…any coach, that would utter the nonsense written in this section of this blog post. It is beyond my comprehension.
The kicker is a convenient target. Because admitting you can’t motivate players to cover kicks and make tackles reflects poorly on you as the special teams coach and of course that kind of thing goes all the way to the top.
And what does it mean that the “team” has considered “handing the job” to Bogotay….
Who is in charge Coach Richt?
Coach Mark Richt Misquoted
I have been misquoted a few times in my life, nothing too serious or damaging, just frustrating. Coach Mark Richt does interviews almost every day of his life. I am sure he occasionally has to deal with some corrections. I am sure he was quick to call a certain newspaper last week, because they obviously misrepresented him in a big way. That’s the only thing that makes sense. In an article about Brandon Bogotay and the possibility his kicking abilities might bring about a change in the kick-off philosophy Coach Richt allegedly said this about Brandon:
Man, if I was Coach Richt I would be ticked off. There is no way Mark Richt said that. He knows better than to think that kickers can kick a ball 75+ yards and to a spot. As I’ve written before, the best kick-off man in America last year was David Buehler from USC. He ”only” kicked 54% of his kicks for touchbacks and number two was not even close. David is a 6’2″ 225 lb. true athlete that is in training camp with the Dallas Cowboys. But Coach Richt knows that. I am sure Coach Jon Fabris, who was also blatantly misquoted, has done the research and passed it along to Coach Richt.
Boy, I bet the roof of Butts-Mehre is still in orbit from when the coaches found out. I would be mad too. It makes the coaches look like they don’t have an understanding of what rules have been changed and what is reasonable to expect from a kicker these days. I don’t believe that for a second. They are too good at what they do for this one area to be so deficient, so weak, so totally in the dark.
I have not seen a retraction yet, but it should be forthcoming. It has to. It just has to.
For Georgia Fans…A Conversation with Brandon Bogotay
A few weeks ago I received a “friend request” on Facebook. Brandon Bogotay, the newly signed JUCO transfer was reaching out to the old guy. You never know who is really in touch with the tradition of a program, but Brandon seems to understand it and embrace it. I gladly accepted, even though I support Blair Walsh as much as anybody, save his family. I certainly don’t harbor any ill will towards the ‘new guy”. He has every right to come in and compete, just like the other hundred some odd guys on Georgia’s roster.
I had a chance to talk to Brandon on the phone Sunday evening and he shared some of what is on the horizon for him. He is coming to Georgia this week and going through some orientation. He’ll take some summer classes to get started on his academic transition. He plans on pursuing a business degree although the specifics have not been decided upon. He has time to decide the details later because right now he has other things on his rather over-sized plate.
If you were to go back two years from the date of this writing, June 28th, 2009, Brandon Bogotay had never played in a football game. He had played alot of futbol, but no football. If you go back just one year when he was preparing to play at Grossmont College, he still had not even attempted a field goal in a game. He kicked off the last five or so games for the Patrick Henry Patriots in 2007, and that’s it. Amazing.
As many of you know he went 15-23 on field goals last fall which is very respectable for his first year EVER. He had a long kick of 52 yards. His claim to fame is his strong leg on kick-offs. He kicked twenty touchbacks on fifty-two kick-offs. That’s a 38% success rate which is well above average.
I still question if it will be enough to change the philosophy of directional kick-offs….
I hope the coaches take the harnesses off. I’ve talked enough about that before, so I’ll leave it alone for now. Brandon has been working on all aspects of his game with San Diego kicking coaches, Lance Ortega and John Coker. He says John in particular has helped a great deal. Georgia’s overall philosophy is to allow and encourage competition at every position, so he and Blair Walsh will be competing on field goals as well.
Both of these guys are good kids as well as quality kickers. There will be no “KICKER CONTROVERSY” at the University of Georgia. No drama here. Both competitors are going about their business in a mature fashion. Believe me, that was not always true with all the guys in recents years at UGA. So this will be a pleasure to watch unfold. The kicker’s contribution to special teams will be much better in 2009, I guarantee it.
Oh, on a side note. I made some predictions as to what Brandon’s eventual nickname might be, but I decided to keep it between he and I. It might be an RTK Poll for down the road.
NCAA says no to touchbacks…
Imagine if you will, a professional golfer who is consistently able to drive the ball 300 yards with reasonable accuracy. Now you tell him he HAS to either to drive it 330 yards with the same degree of accuracy OR drive it 290 with an even higher degree of accuracy on the left side of the fairway, with greater height. WITH THE SAME CLUB. But he can’t tee it UP, he has to tee it down. If you are a golfer and/or a knowledgable golf fan you probably see the lunacy in these expectations.
Yet this is what was expected of Blair Walsh last year.
I am going to try to explain this with as much factual information as possible, so it will not appear I am trying to make excuses for Blair or anyone else. (more…)
Tell me what you really think!