(09-22-2021 09:08 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(09-22-2021 08:10 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  I do think he can kick farther. Many times he kicks a long FG with room to spare.
Other things to consider:
-We have a good offense and honestly there aren't many times where we need him to kick a long FG. Many times we can get him in range for a much closer kick.
-We have a good defense and may prefer to play the field position game as opposed to going for a long FG and possibly give the other team good field position.

In the playoffs against SHSU he hit from 48 yards and a quarter later with the season on the line they trotted out his backup to try from 51. Safe to say in game competition 48 is it; this is his 6th year on campus and despite 91 FG attempts he’s only tried 2 from 50+ and is 0-2. The coaches know his range, and that dictates what they decide to try in those situations. Again, great accuracy on chips shots, but the leg strength just isn’t there.

Thanks for the clarification. Now that you mention it, I totally forgot about Wise (I think it was him) trying the 51 yard FG. You are right, if Ratke had the range he would have taken that kick.
It's possible that he may have built his leg strength up from the spring, but doubt he would be able to add that many extra yards.