Coutu Redo
Georgia Bulldogs everywhere remember Brandon Coutu. He’s the one that made Dawg fans feel a little better about losing Billy Bennett. I just hope NFL personnel departments have not forgotten him. They can have extremely short memories. Brandon is one of the best kickers in recent years and a hip condition prevented him from performing at the highest level when drafted by Seattle a couple of years ago.
Now he is rehabbing from a second surgery on his hip(click here) and is hoping to get just one more shot. There is no doubt he has the ability. As always, he just has to be at the right place at the right time.
I wish him well.
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?
Blair Walsh, My Man!
I have waited to talk about Blair Walsh and his game-winning 37 yard field goal Saturday night against Arizona State. I was as nervous as I’ve been in a long time. Not because I was not confident in Blair. I always get nervous watching young kickers in pressure situations and this one was worse because I actually know him.
In the past year or so I have seen Blair ride the proverbial roller coaster that is a kicker’s existence. He started out very well last year, particularly on field goals, but the challenges of directional kicking derailed him temporarily. He finished strong but the seed of an idea was already growing in Mark Richt’s mind. Maybe Blair was not the answer after all. He even said as much in a press conference when he said he would go as far as Poland to find some one that could kick-off through the end zone. I can’t tell you how angry I was at this uninformed flippant statement from some one I had grown to respect very much. It was a low blow.
Following up on his promise, Georgia signed a junior college kicker, Brandon Bogotay based on nothing more than a recruiting video. Now I believe Brandon to be a very good kicker as well. He, like Blair is not allowed to kick as he did previously.
As most of you know, I have been an advocate of Blair’s for several reasons. First, I knew how well he had performed in high school and after meeting him last summer, I knew his resolve to succeed at this level. Secondly, I knew the flawed philosophy he was being forced to employ. Third, he was being unfairly criticized by coaches and fans alike for struggling at times with said flawed philosophy.
This past off-season has been a time of tremendous growth for Blair I’m sure. He has already surpassed last year’s number of touch-backs with five. Even so, he is not allowed to even try but from time to time. As of now, he is a perfect 8-8 on field goals with two over 50 yards. Just so you know, he will miss someday, so don’t have a hissy fit when it happens.
I could not be happier for this young man who has been through so much from fans and coaches alike, for no good reason. I have never met his parents, but I’m equally happy for them.
Billy Bennett, Brandon Coutu & now Blair Walsh,
aka The Killer B’s,
Coach Richt must think he’s in heaven already.
All he ever knew before Georgia was WIDE RIGHT.
Georgia Punting in Good Hands
I’ll never forget the first time I saw Drew Butler. No, he was not a bouncing baby boy on his Dad’s golden leg. It was not even in youth soccer. It was Drew’s senior year at Peachtree Ridge HS. The Lions were in the midst of their co-state championship run. They were playing one of my customers Campbell HS.
I was there early to see warm-ups. I had heard alot about Drew and I knew he was a top prospect to kick in college. It took just a few minutes for me to come to one definite conclusion. But more about that in a minute. I saw Peachtree Ridge escape with a win against Campbell and later watched them tie Roswell for the 2006 AAAAA Co-State Championship.
I didn’t actually meet Drew until the following May, after he had signed with Georgia after considering good options at Duke among others. Peachtree Ridge had become a customer when I followed Bill Ballard from Tucker. Drew had just finished kicking and working out when I ran into him outside the fieldhouse.
I asked him then if my conclusions about him were correct. While a very solid kicker in high school, I felt right away that Drew was a more natural punter. He confirmed that immediately, stating that his wish was to punt at Georgia. By that time, Blair Walsh had committed to UGA and it was Drew’s contention that Blair would kick and he would punt.
Drew has been in the program now for two years and has gotten much stronger. Gordon Ely-Kelso was a four year starter but Brian Mimbs “grew” into his role as a punter. Heck , he walked on at UGA to kick and with Brandon Coutu in the fold, he saw the writing on the wall. He shifted his focus and became a very good college punter. Drew will be ready also. This does not mean there will be no bad kicks. There are always bad kicks with every kicker and punter. Surely you remember a few bad punts in recent years and we survived most of them. It’s what you do the next time out that matters.
Short term memory loss is essential to be a successful kicker.
Now I have to work on long term memories.
Can you say Bluebonnet Bowl?
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.
Tell me what you really think!