Our punting situation

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Doc1001

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Did I hear Kill say we have a punter that we are red shirting? It does seem to me way back we did sign or invite a punter but I cant remember much about it. Does anyone remember a punter red shirting for us this year? Punting REALLY hurt us this year. I guess i can see why Kill keeps starting Orseske as I have watched him often boom 45 to 50 yard punts in practice but you have to be able to do that under pressure and that hasnt been the case.
 

I don't know if we had a punter rs'ing this year but we did trot David Schwerman out there for a punt against Northwestern. His punt went something like 20 yards, but it was crazy windy that day so judging him on that punt alone might be a little harsh.

Edit. Just looked and Schwerman is a senior so that's probably not who you're talking about.

I agree that somehow the punting game needs to get fixed. /obvious statement.
 

Peter Mortell

Doc1001 said:
Did I hear Kill say we have a punter that we are red shirting? It does seem to me way back we did sign or invite a punter but I cant remember much about it. Does anyone remember a punter red shirting for us this year? Punting REALLY hurt us this year. I guess i can see why Kill keeps starting Orseske as I have watched him often boom 45 to 50 yard punts in practice but you have to be able to do that under pressure and that hasnt been the case.
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It is Peter Mortell a freshman walk-on from Green Bay Wisconsin.

Here is a press release from Kohl's kicking camp:

January 2011 - Peter Mortell has ended his college search. Coach Kill (U Minnesota Head Coach) has invited Peter to join the Gophers in the summer of 2011 for a pre-ferred walk-on spot. Peter will compete with the current U of M players for playing time early in his career. Peter has attended multiple Kohl's camps in the last year. He has made tremendous technical progress this past season and it showed during the season by him wining the Wisconsin All-State punting honors. Congrats to Peter and his family!
 

Kill puts a great emphasis on special teams, and Orseske does have talent.

I'm sure he'll get his head on right. If not, he'll put someone out there he has confidence in.
 

Thanks killjoy. Thats the guy i was thinking about.
 


Just goes to show the dangers of handing out scholarships to kickers and punters. I believe both Hawthorn and Oreske were given scholarships before they showed up and neither lived up to their previous hype. I find it hard to believe that there isn't someone among the student body who could walk onto that team and perform better than Oreske. Does not matter if you can "boom" punts in practice. What we need is someone who can punt the ball at least 40 yards during the most critical points of the game. It seems Oreske's bad kicks happen at the worst possible time.

The 6yd boot yesterday was priceless for bad timing. Illinois had just scored to make it 27-7 early in the 3rd qtr. Fortunately, we had decent field position after the kickoff due to Epping's "epic" return. Our offense goes 3&out and you could sense the shift in momentum. 4th and 12 from our own 46. A "decent" punt puts Ill at their own 20 or so (is 35yds too much to ask?). Instead, we get a punt that travels half way to the first down marker, giving them the ball at the 48. We lucked out with a 15yd penalty on Illlinois' next drive to stop the momentum shift (they had converted a first down prior to the penalty).
 

Illinois did pretty well with their "WR/Punter", perhaps MarQueis can punt.
 

I have never seen Oreske at practice, but in game situations he is too tense in his shoulders and arms. He seems to expect disaster. Someone down there needs to get inside his head. He needs to relax and focus on only the snap and the ball. His stance is good, his timing is off on his drop. Though he gets good extension through the ball, he is not hitting the sweet spot. The thud when he strikes it makes me think he needs to shorten his drop and take it higher. That maybe natural in practice, but in game the slightest deviation is 29 not 39. And when he hits it in practice its 49. Minnesota has had over the years much better field goal kickers than punters. Can someone name that one kicker we have had that consistently change field position, always seemed to boom it 50 yards out his own end zone? The kicker who consistenly pinned opponents inside their 20. Maybe I missed him, but what a piece to have.
 

Doc1001

Doc1001 said:
Thanks killjoy. Thats the guy i was thinking about.
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Thanks for reminding all of us about him. One of the things I really appreciate about Coach Kill is that he is always working hard on all fronts to improve the team. Hopefully Peter Mortell will be another example of this.
 



Now knowing his name I see Chris Monter did a great interview with him for gopher hole. Thats where i knew there was someone lurking. Notre Dame and Northwestern had interest. Google his name for more info. Getting me optimistic we will see some booming punts next year.
 

Unregistered User said:
Kill puts a great emphasis on special teams, and Orseske does have talent.

I'm sure he'll get his head on right. If not, he'll put someone out there he has confidence in.
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Orseske has talent. Period. Not ready to give up on him just yet. All he needs is a healthy dose of confidence, even arrogance. Take the field like you're the best punter in the country. He could be a LITTLE quicker too. The ball that got deflected yesterday, partially blocked, he was epicly slow in getting the ball off.

You've got the talent, Dan. You just need to KNOW that you do. A little arrogance for a punter/kicker can go a long ways.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Orseske has talent. Period. Not ready to give up on him just yet. All he needs is a healthy dose of confidence, even arrogance. Take the field like you're the best punter in the country. He could be a LITTLE quicker too. The ball that got deflected yesterday, partially blocked, he was epicly slow in getting the ball off.

You've got the talent, Dan. You just need to KNOW that you do. A little arrogance for a punter/kicker can go a long ways.
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+1. Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds and absolutely essential for punters. Orseske has a lot of leg. Just needs to put it all together.
 

Orseke's problems are all mental. if he gets staightend out, he has the talent to be all conference. I wish I had an answer, if I did, I would be out making a fortune curing golfers of the yips.
 



nsmike said:
Orseke's problems are all mental. if he gets staightend out, he has the talent to be all conference. I wish I had an answer, if I did, I would be out making a fortune curing golfers of the yips.
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+1
 

How long do we keep O? His poor punting really hurts us. If he cannot get his head right by the third game you have to make the change. I agree that his issues are mental and after seing how he struggled ALL season he may never get his head right.
 

GO4INLALALAND said:
How long do we keep O? His poor punting really hurts us. If he cannot get his head right by the third game you have to make the change. I agree that his issues are mental and after seing how he struggled ALL season he may never get his head right.
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It is absolutely AMAZING that punting didn't cost the Gophers the game against Illinois. That was arguably the biggest differential in field position that I can recall seeing in a game, in the punting game. Wow. How in the world did Illinois not capitalize on that??? If the punting/field position aspect of the Illinois game was even close to a wash, the Gophers could have won by 30. Just inexcusable. I also thought the Gopher punt returners could have done a little better job of fielding those rugby-stule punts before they rolled an extra 15-25 yards.

Next year, things have to improve. No two ways about it.
 

husker70 said:
I have never seen Oreske at practice, but in game situations he is too tense in his shoulders and arms. He seems to expect disaster. Someone down there needs to get inside his head. He needs to relax and focus on only the snap and the ball. His stance is good, his timing is off on his drop. Though he gets good extension through the ball, he is not hitting the sweet spot. The thud when he strikes it makes me think he needs to shorten his drop and take it higher. That maybe natural in practice, but in game the slightest deviation is 29 not 39. And when he hits it in practice its 49. Minnesota has had over the years much better field goal kickers than punters. Can someone name that one kicker we have had that consistently change field position, always seemed to boom it 50 yards out his own end zone? The kicker who consistenly pinned opponents inside their 20. Maybe I missed him, but what a piece to have.
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Good points! Orseske has boomed 60 yarders in warmups. If we recall, he has booted 50 plus yard punts in games. I agree on the tenseness part. To add to it, I think he has developed a hitch somewhere while trying to correct himself out of a "funk". Hopefully film study and "live" practices will help with this. The guy is capable of being a very good punter. I'd love to see him regain his form prior to having to redshirt due to a severe case of mono.
 

The kid is talented and punting is an odd thing (like kicking or being a closer), if you have a bad run, people forget about the rest of the year. 2/3rds of the season, he was a good punter.

He struggled against Nebraska and then a lot at the end of the year.
He did the same thing in 2010 as I recall....he started out OK and then finished really bad.

I don't know if the weather changes really get to him,if he is like a golfer who picks up a hook after playing for awhile, or if it's entirely mental.

I think he will definitely have some competition next year with Mortell, I hope he figures it out.
 

Orseske averaged 46 yards a punt through the first four games of the season, including three punts 53 yards or longer.

I hope he can figure it out, because if he can, he'll be very good.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
The kid is talented and punting is an odd thing (like kicking or being a closer), if you have a bad run, people forget about the rest of the year. 2/3rds of the season, he was a good punter.

I think he will definitely have some competition next year with Mortell, I hope he figures it out.
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Punting is a tough racket. It's a lot more difficult than placekicking, which many don't realize. A lot more variables, moving parts, etc. I really believe Orseske has considerable talent. For lack of a better way to put it, he needs to teach/force himself to be a little arrogant. If I only had three arrogant/cocky guys on my football team, I would want them to be my starting QB, my kicker, and my punter. Orseske can be one of the best in the conference, he just needs to act like he is.
 

What I find funny is up until Nebraska everyone was saying Orseske was our best player. Make up your minds!
 

GO4INLALALAND said:
How long do we keep O? His poor punting really hurts us. If he cannot get his head right by the third game you have to make the change. I agree that his issues are mental and after seing how he struggled ALL season he may never get his head right.
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Let me guess, is this a "pull his scholarship" post? Lovely.
 

I wonder if Oreske is in the game, I mean does he follow the action, the down distance, field position? Or does he focus on his drop, his three step alignment and just waits for the call. He has that deer in the headlights look. Fearful before the snap. FEAR is False Expectations of Apparent Results. Now having rewatched the game against Illinois. On the one punt where the camera followed the snap from behind Oreske it was mid hip on his right side. He made the catch and began his three step kick. Bringing the ball back to online he over corrected just so slightly the ball going off center to the left. His alignment was then off as he chased it inside. His correction yield a mis hit semi shank for 29 yards. Punting is all about alignment, drop and leg swing. It should always be in a straight line. He does not have the confidence to take that couple tenth of second to bring the snap back on line. Or his timing begins at the catch and if it is off so it the punt. Maybe, and it hard to say if it would help. Maybe he needs to build in the correction before he strides. From there his drop in down the line and viola 45 yards down the middle. The fear in his eyes tells the story.
 

husker70 said:
I wonder if Oreske is in the game, I mean does he follow the action, the down distance, field position? Or does he focus on his drop, his three step alignment and just waits for the call. He has that deer in the headlights look. Fearful before the snap. FEAR is False Expectations of Apparent Results. Now having rewatched the game against Illinois. On the one punt where the camera followed the snap from behind Oreske it was mid hip on his right side. He made the catch and began his three step kick. Bringing the ball back to online he over corrected just so slightly the ball going off center to the left. His alignment was then off as he chased it inside. His correction yield a mis hit semi shank for 29 yards. Punting is all about alignment, drop and leg swing. It should always be in a straight line. He does not have the confidence to take that couple tenth of second to bring the snap back on line. Or his timing begins at the catch and if it is off so it the punt. Maybe, and it hard to say if it would help. Maybe he needs to build in the correction before he strides. From there his drop in down the line and viola 45 yards down the middle. The fear in his eyes tells the story.
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I could never be a special teams coach... Lol
 


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