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Special Teams sure are "special" this year. Outside of the punter. This seems like an easy fix to get ST to a decent to good level. I feel bad for the kicker on a personal level, especially after getting plowed on the return play. But he doesn't appear to be the answer.

Jonathan Ruffin, where are you?

Punt coverage and the punter are fine.

We are near the bottom in Kickoff yards allowed and kickoff return yardage. Our defense has not allowed a ton of points this year, so we don't have as many opportunities to get kickoff return yardage. We rank near the bottom in Punt return yardage.

We need a new kicker, not much else to discuss there.

#97 Ryan Jones who kicks off. He can't place Kick? Must not show much in practice otherwise or they'd be trying him?

Hopefully UC recruits a kicker or holds open tryouts in the off season.
Sometimes there is untapped talent in the student body.

Smith 20-29 3 of 3 30-39 0 of 4 40-49 2 of 5 total 5 of 12 missed EP 2

Gantz 20-29 2 of 2 30-39 4 of 6 40-49 4 of 7 total 10 of 15 missed EP NONE


Gantz 2018 above stats from NIU.


Gantz was shaky his JR year but Smith is a train wreck

(11-18-2018 11:43 AM)doss2 Wrote:  Smith 20-29 3 of 3 30-39 0 of 4 40-49 2 of 5 total 5 of 12 missed EP 2

Gantz 20-29 2 of 2 30-39 4 of 6 40-49 4 of 7 total 10 of 15 missed EP NONE


Gantz 2018 above stats from NIU.


Gantz was shaky his JR year but Smith is a train wreck

Yeah, I really wish he had stuck around. He was pretty screwed up after his injury, but at least he has proven he can do it at this level and as the numbers above show, would almost certainly be a better option than Smith. I feel bad for Smith, but we simply can't afford to have him on the field next season. This roster has proven it can compete for an AAC Championship and we can't allow special teams to derail a potentially special season in 2019.

(11-18-2018 11:27 AM)bearcat72 Wrote:  #97 Ryan Jones who kicks off. He can't place Kick? Must not show much in practice otherwise or they'd be trying him?

Jones place kicked a few last year and it was not good. His numbers were just like Smith’s but his contact and ball flight were terrible.

Cole Smith is a young kicker who makes solid contact and has a big leg. He’s had 2 blocks, but one was 48 or 49 yards so that’s understandable. A lot of freshman kickers struggle. He is capable of improvement.

You have to be able to feel confident that your kicker can make a 35 yard FG. I also feel bad for him but it's an important position and it needs to be addressed.

I had to LOL when Smith got run over like road kill on that blocked FG. Coaching staff made a mistake when they ran off Gantz.

Ryan Jones was 6 of 10 last year including 6 of 7 from inside 40 yds.

(11-18-2018 09:52 AM)jarr Wrote:  Special Teams sure are "special" this year. Outside of the punter. This seems like an easy fix to get ST to a decent to good level. I feel bad for the kicker on a personal level, especially after getting plowed on the return play. But he doesn't appear to be the answer.

I think the kicker did a great job on that play.

There were several blockers out in front and our kicker was running backwards. Most players would get plowed over in that situation.

But just by getting there, our kicker forced the runner to slow down and cut inside. If the kicker hadn't been there, that's a touchdown every time. And it took a fair bit of speed to get over there in time. He didn't make the tackle, but it was a heckuva play.

Smith has trouble making it from the right hash, even in practice. I'm surprised no one has brought this up. He'll consistently go 1-5/2-5 from the right hash during half time. The problem being is the Ridder can basically only through to the right, so they live on the right hash.

(11-18-2018 12:41 PM)JackieTreehorn Wrote:  I had to LOL when Smith got run over like road kill on that blocked FG. Coaching staff made a mistake when they ran off Gantz.

Maybe. But I've heard it suggested that his departure wasn't about in-game performance. If that's so, the undisciplined state of the team under Tubs had to be corrected. And the record at 9-2 suggests the coaching staff has effectively put their house in order.

With that said, I think we would probably agree. A team that runs a ground game and counts on time of possession must absolutely score on every PAT and a high percentage of field goals within some reasonable distance.

(11-19-2018 06:52 AM)Z-Fly Wrote:  Smith has trouble making it from the right hash, even in practice. I'm surprised no one has brought this up. He'll consistently go 1-5/2-5 from the right hash during half time. The problem being is the Ridder can basically only through to the right, so they live on the right hash.

Kicking leg has is the most difficult for any kicker. It's much easier to slice a ball than cut a ball.

All in all, in a vacuum he isn't a bad kicker from a mechanics standpoint (I really can't see any fault in most of his kicks like I could with Gantz and Miliano), but he seems to have a HUGE issue with getting previous kicks out of his head. If you look back at all of his kicks after misses, they are significant over-corrects...which shows just how much he is "thinking" out there, something no one can really do and be a successful kicker.

(11-19-2018 08:19 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(11-18-2018 12:41 PM)JackieTreehorn Wrote:  I had to LOL when Smith got run over like road kill on that blocked FG. Coaching staff made a mistake when they ran off Gantz.

Maybe. But I've heard it suggested that his departure wasn't about in-game performance. If that's so, the undisciplined state of the team under Tubs had to be corrected. And the record at 9-2 suggests the coaching staff has effectively put their house in order.

With that said, I think we would probably agree. A team that runs a ground game and counts on time of possession must absolutely score on every PAT and a high percentage of field goals within some reasonable distance.

Yeah, from what I've heard he was not well liked by his teammates, but when healthy he could at least make the kicks consistently, which is more than can be said for Smith right now.

Smith’s kicks seem to fade right. He does not get a consistent draw from follow through. Then he over corrects and pulls the ball right.

The notable exception I remember was his FG to send one game to OT where the ball drew nicely from outside to good.

Smith is 96% on XPs, which is acceptable. The problem is he’s missed 3-4 FGs in a row. No makes since SMU. That’s not how you want a freshman to finish out the year. If he can’t make a few kicks against ECU or in the bowl game the competition needs to be open next year.

(11-19-2018 08:29 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(11-19-2018 06:52 AM)Z-Fly Wrote:  Smith has trouble making it from the right hash, even in practice. I'm surprised no one has brought this up. He'll consistently go 1-5/2-5 from the right hash during half time. The problem being is the Ridder can basically only through to the right, so they live on the right hash.

Kicking leg has is the most difficult for any kicker. It's much easier to slice a ball than cut a ball.

All in all, in a vacuum he isn't a bad kicker from a mechanics standpoint (I really can't see any fault in most of his kicks like I could with Gantz and Miliano), but he seems to have a HUGE issue with getting previous kicks out of his head. If you look back at all of his kicks after misses, they are significant over-corrects...which shows just how much he is "thinking" out there, something no one can really do and be a successful kicker.

I like how the ball pops off his foot. We haven't had that in years with a kicker. I don't like being nervous every time he goes out to kick though. The staff was smart to keep sending him out there Saturday night. To win the game, everybody had to do their job.
Even if he had hit those, the 14 point turn around wasn't enough to overcome UCF (1 missed extra point, 2 missed FG, one that got blocked and resulted in a UCF td before halftime). Maybe we would have had more confidence and played tougher or maybe not. Eventually he has to get it or we have to get a new starting kicker. The 11th game isn't that time. I hope he can hit a camp this summer and turn it around next year but, at this point in the season, you have to run what you bring.

(11-19-2018 08:29 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(11-19-2018 06:52 AM)Z-Fly Wrote:  Smith has trouble making it from the right hash, even in practice. I'm surprised no one has brought this up. He'll consistently go 1-5/2-5 from the right hash during half time. The problem being is the Ridder can basically only through to the right, so they live on the right hash.

Kicking leg has is the most difficult for any kicker. It's much easier to slice a ball than cut a ball.

All in all, in a vacuum he isn't a bad kicker from a mechanics standpoint (I really can't see any fault in most of his kicks like I could with Gantz and Miliano), but he seems to have a HUGE issue with getting previous kicks out of his head. If you look back at all of his kicks after misses, they are significant over-corrects...which shows just how much he is "thinking" out there, something no one can really do and be a successful kicker.

You're the expert. I sit in the Baircat lair right behind the field goal posts. On the right hash he'll kick the first 2 typically wide right, one way wide left, one will find the mark, and then wide right again.

Everything else he pretty much nails consistently.