Kicker

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Dakota2 said:
Just like golf. Aim left and you get the dreaded straight ball. Better to find the tiny twist in the toe or ankle and just get back to the gentle draw.
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Hey coach, I’m now a senior and my swing seems like it isn’t keeping up with my body and I’m slicing a lot of shots. What can I do to get it all together again? (I’m serious about my lagging swing, but joking about getting your advice. But then again, it never hurts to ask. 😁).
 



Dakota2 said:
Don't think you get to BIG Kicker of the Year through an aberration. Maybe a handful of games way better than your norm but not a full season.
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I disagree. I'm not saying that my opinion is the truth, I don't know, I wasn't at practice.

I do know that the difference between a really good kicker and an okay kicker is about 4-5 plays a season. It's a position with a really small sample size. There are plenty of inaccurate kickers who had a streaky good 20-25 kicks.
 

It is crazy how he has consistently missed wide right.

It feels like the Covid season in the sense there is this uneasy feeling that the game will be lost if it comes down to a must-have field goal.
 




Does anybody know anything about the other two kickers on the roster?

David Kemp - transferred from Memphis
Sam Henson - transferred from Concordia St Paul

I get that Kesich has a big leg. I get that he was good last year. I also get that it is a very uneasy feeling right now when he is asked to make a field goal. Do the coaches stick with him through thick or thin? Or could they switch to one of these guys?
 

Tech Machine said:
50% of his problem is mechanics, the other 90% is mental.

But it is a serious problem.
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thisisconfusing-confusing.gif
 





Could just be the yips. I know it's absurd to compare D1 football to beer league softball, but one year I was on a team with no pitcher. We kept having different guys try, no one could hit the strike zone and we walked a lot of guys. One day I said "it's just lobbing a softball into a big strike zone, how hard can it be" and volunteered. At the start, it worked great. I hit the strike zone consistently and our problem was solved. Never thought too hard about it, just started throwing the ball.

A few months later, everything went to hell. Not only was I missing, every time I let go of the ball, it felt like I did it wrong. I started trying to think more about my mechanics. That made it worse. It felt like I was gripping the ball wrong, releasing it at the wrong point, but I couldn't figure out what the right way was. At one really low point I was on the mound and wondered if I had stayed stepping with the wrong foot, and then realized at the moment I couldn't even remember which foot I stepped with.

It happens with high level athletes. Golfers. Chuck knoblauch. Something gets messed up, you start thinking, and the harder you work, the worse it gets. Have to imagine Kesich is even more frustrated than any of us (well, probably most of us based on some of the threads).
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Could just be the yips. I know it's absurd to compare D1 football to beer league softball, but one year I was on a team with no pitcher. We kept having different guys try, no one could hit the strike zone and we walked a lot of guys. One day I said "it's just lobbing a softball into a big strike zone, how hard can it be" and volunteered. At the start, it worked great. I hit the strike zone consistently and our problem was solved. Never thought too hard about it, just started throwing the ball.

A few months later, everything went to hell. Not only was I missing, every time I let go of the ball, it felt like I did it wrong. I started trying to think more about my mechanics. That made it worse. It felt like I was gripping the ball wrong, releasing it at the wrong point, but I couldn't figure out what the right way was. At one really low point I was on the mound and wondered if I had stayed stepping with the wrong foot, and then realized at the moment I couldn't even remember which foot I stepped with.

It happens with high level athletes. Golfers. Chuck knoblauch. Something gets messed up, you start thinking, and the harder you work, the worse it gets. Have to imagine Kesich is even more frustrated than any of us (well, probably most of us based on some of the threads).
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Happens to baseball pitchers and tennis players too. Kesich isn't missing by a lot, so hopefully he can find his groove again.
 



I am not as concerned as most of you seem to be.

He hasn't shanked anything or wildly missed the FGs. They all have missed to the right, as part of his natural draw. This is not the yips, where he is missing by 10 feet or coming up 10 yards short. He is close, but doesn't have it quite dialed in.

In total this year, he has missed six kicks.

Two misses have been from 55 yards and both missed by about a foot, one of those coming in the wet conditions at Michigan. Another was from 50 yards and missed by two feet. Plenty of leg and great rotation on all three kicks.

The game-winner vs. UNC was from 47 yards and missed by maybe two feet, going "over" the upright. So he pummeled the kick, but it drew right.

His miss vs. UNC at 27 yards sucks. He missed it, hitting the upright. It happens.

The UCLA miss from 43 yards went over the upright and looked good on the replay to me. Like I'm not sure how it was no good. So, it must have missed by only inches if at all.

He needs to figure out the draw and get re-calibrated.

I remain confident in him. But, I'm an optimist.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Could just be the yips. I know it's absurd to compare D1 football to beer league softball, but one year I was on a team with no pitcher. We kept having different guys try, no one could hit the strike zone and we walked a lot of guys. One day I said "it's just lobbing a softball into a big strike zone, how hard can it be" and volunteered. At the start, it worked great. I hit the strike zone consistently and our problem was solved. Never thought too hard about it, just started throwing the ball.

A few months later, everything went to hell. Not only was I missing, every time I let go of the ball, it felt like I did it wrong. I started trying to think more about my mechanics. That made it worse. It felt like I was gripping the ball wrong, releasing it at the wrong point, but I couldn't figure out what the right way was. At one really low point I was on the mound and wondered if I had stayed stepping with the wrong foot, and then realized at the moment I couldn't even remember which foot I stepped with.

It happens with high level athletes. Golfers. Chuck knoblauch. Something gets messed up, you start thinking, and the harder you work, the worse it gets. Have to imagine Kesich is even more frustrated than any of us (well, probably most of us based on some of the threads).
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Happy to hear that I wasn't the only it happened to. Even thinking about which foot to land on. Yep, you start thinking about what you need to do and it goes to hell very quickly.
 

Mulligan said:
Happy to hear that I wasn't the only it happened to. Even thinking about which foot to land on. Yep, you start thinking about what you need to do and it goes to hell very quickly.
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That's why asking your golf partner "do you exhale at the top or bottom of your swing" is so effective!
 

While we tend to focus naturally on the kicker's state-of-mind when the occasional blip becomes a pattern, this has to be coming into Coach's mindset too. Must be driving him crazy but he has no real alternative...Dragan is the kicker unless injured.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
Next year we're likely rocking a couple true freshmen punting and kicking.
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Fleck has taken portal kickers before though. Wouldn't be shocked if we take another one next year. Miami of Ohio has a junior kicker (Dom Dzioban) with some good stats. Buffalo has a sophomore (Upton Bellenfant) with some nice stats too.
 

tjgopher said:
I am not as concerned as most of you seem to be.

He hasn't shanked anything or wildly missed the FGs. They all have missed to the right, as part of his natural draw. This is not the yips, where he is missing by 10 feet or coming up 10 yards short. He is close, but doesn't have it quite dialed in.

In total this year, he has missed six kicks.

Two misses have been from 55 yards and both missed by about a foot, one of those coming in the wet conditions at Michigan. Another was from 50 yards and missed by two feet. Plenty of leg and great rotation on all three kicks.

The game-winner vs. UNC was from 47 yards and missed by maybe two feet, going "over" the upright. So he pummeled the kick, but it drew right.

His miss vs. UNC at 27 yards sucks. He missed it, hitting the upright. It happens.

The UCLA miss from 43 yards went over the upright and looked good on the replay to me. Like I'm not sure how it was no good. So, it must have missed by only inches if at all.

He needs to figure out the draw and get re-calibrated.

I remain confident in him. But, I'm an optimist.
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Well said, the long misses don't bug me much because those are tough kicks to begin with and that counts for half of his misses. Frustrating because he definitely has the leg to make those but once you get beyond 50 yards it is much more of a crap shoot with kickers.

That said, it is a little tough to trust him right now when the game is on the line. I was relieved that we got the TD against UCLA to take the field goal out of play. But for the remainder of this year he is likely our best option so you roll with him and hope he can consistently make anything within 45 yards or so.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Next year we're likely rocking a couple true freshmen punting and kicking.
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Alabama recruit!

Ryerse’s performance Friday wasn’t limited to one long field goal. He averaged 45.3 yards on three punts and had a successful onside kick in the second half.

Ryerse is the state’s No. 1-ranked baseball prospect who had plans to play both football and baseball at Alabama. The new football staff that replaced Nick Saban wasn’t as agreeable to that plan, causing Ryerse to change his commitment to Minnesota.
www.startribune.com

Football Across Minnesota: Gophers QB recruit Jackson Kollock honors sister lost to SIDS

Jackson Kollock was devastated by the loss of his sister, Catalina Raine, but football helped him through the pain. He’s now a top prospect in Laguna Beach (Calif.) and committed to the Gophers.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 

MNVCGUY said:
Caleb McGrath from Eastview is currently on the roster....wouldn't count him out in terms of winning the punting job next year.
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And we have the kids from Alexandria and East Ridge coming in. Nice to see some local talent.

Wouldn't mind us having a short punter and long punter. Our 31 year old is good had pinning inside the 20, but does nothing for me when just looking for a long punt.
 

WAGopher said:
Hey coach, I’m now a senior and my swing seems like it isn’t keeping up with my body and I’m slicing a lot of shots. What can I do to get it all together again? (I’m serious about my lagging swing, but joking about getting your advice. But then again, it never hurts to ask. 😁).
Click to expand...
Lagging swing means your hips and wrists are not in sync. Smooth it out in slow motion on the range then feel your parts working together.
 

Schnauzer said:
It is crazy how he has consistently missed wide right.

It feels like the Covid season in the sense there is this uneasy feeling that the game will be lost if it comes down to a must-have field goal.
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Not crazy at all. He is frequently closing up his ankle and toe too quickly. That's a hook every time.
 


gopherbadgerman said:
How is the special teams coach responsible for him missing kicks?
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Im definitely not an expert, but it’s one constant that’s changed from last year to this year. Also long snapper, but I’m not sure how much of an impact that has. Crawford is still the holder this year as he was last year though
 

tjgopher said:
I am not as concerned as most of you seem to be.

He hasn't shanked anything or wildly missed the FGs. They all have missed to the right, as part of his natural draw. This is not the yips, where he is missing by 10 feet or coming up 10 yards short. He is close, but doesn't have it quite dialed in.

In total this year, he has missed six kicks.

Two misses have been from 55 yards and both missed by about a foot, one of those coming in the wet conditions at Michigan. Another was from 50 yards and missed by two feet. Plenty of leg and great rotation on all three kicks.

The game-winner vs. UNC was from 47 yards and missed by maybe two feet, going "over" the upright. So he pummeled the kick, but it drew right.

His miss vs. UNC at 27 yards sucks. He missed it, hitting the upright. It happens.

The UCLA miss from 43 yards went over the upright and looked good on the replay to me. Like I'm not sure how it was no good. So, it must have missed by only inches if at all.

He needs to figure out the draw and get re-calibrated.

I remain confident in him. But, I'm an optimist.
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I dunno..I mean, we literally lost our first game because of it. And then the misses keep coming.
I don't count on any points when the field goal unit trots out on the field. But, hopefully he gets it figured out.
 


Wally said:
Alabama recruit!

Ryerse’s performance Friday wasn’t limited to one long field goal. He averaged 45.3 yards on three punts and had a successful onside kick in the second half.

Ryerse is the state’s No. 1-ranked baseball prospect who had plans to play both football and baseball at Alabama. The new football staff that replaced Nick Saban wasn’t as agreeable to that plan, causing Ryerse to change his commitment to Minnesota.
www.startribune.com

Football Across Minnesota: Gophers QB recruit Jackson Kollock honors sister lost to SIDS

Jackson Kollock was devastated by the loss of his sister, Catalina Raine, but football helped him through the pain. He’s now a top prospect in Laguna Beach (Calif.) and committed to the Gophers.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
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Didn’t Darrin Erstad punt for Nebraska?
 

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