Actually, I don't know if our kickers are idiots. I don't really know much of anything about our kickers, other than the fact that, as a unit, they sucked dick last year. We need a massive improvement in the placekicking department, and that is the understatement of the century.
What happened to the days of Rafael Garcia, Connor Hughes, and Chris Gould? UVA used to be known for its quality kickers! Hell, at this point I'd settle for Todd Braverman.
Anyway, we barrel into the '09 season with sophomore holdover Chris Hinkebein, who couldn't hack it as the starting kicker last year. He's got a big leg for kickoffs, however. Sophomore Robert Randolph at least showed some accuracy on his kicks last season (3/4, 6/6 on PATs), but his range is nearly non-existent. So take your pick, a bazooka or a pellet gun. Personally, I don't really like either option.
Hope springs eternal, and true freshman Drew Jarrett will have a chance to step in and save the day. Jarrett was a highly-regarded kicker coming out of high school. He turned down a few FCS scholarship offers in order to attend UVA as a recruited walk-on. Here's hoping he can combine Hinkebein's kicking power with Randolph's accuracy. Jarrett represents our best chance to find a sniper rifle in the kicking game... to extend an uncomfortable metaphor.
At punter, the situation is settled with sophomore Jimmy Howell. Along with an awesome last name, Howell boasts a pretty good, consistent boot. He averaged 39 yards per punt last season. Very solid.
I'm not going to waste time with predictions or grades, other than to say that we damn well better find a decent kicker from the Hinkebeinrandolphjarrett three-headed monster, or we could be in trouble. The Gregg Brandon offense is sure to suffer through fits and starts in its first season, and we'll need to be able to post some triples when we get within scoring range.
Wow, I just spent ten minutes writing about kickers. But ha ha ha, you just spent three minutes reading it!
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