I went to a high school game this past Friday. During halftime, kicker went 2/2 from 40, then 1/1 from 45, and 1/1 from 50, and 1/1 form 55. Lined up for a 60 and it landed about midway through endzone, "didn't hit it well" as some would say (which in reality means "kicked it as hard as he can bc he was maxed out in distance and missed the sweet spot"). Is Ratke going 5/5 hitting the 40-55 yarders doing warm-ups?

I can't understand the need to constantly knock Ratke down? He is the all time leading kicker in college football history!

Enjoy the ride. It is his name and JMU that will be forever in the record books. What happens after he leaves JMU is anybody's guess.

No one ever thought Nucci would be drafted. NFL sees things in players we don't, sometimes.

Go Ethan! I'm so proud of you and bringing the record to JMU.

(11-22-2021 08:59 AM)BSKB 24 Wrote:  I can't understand the need to constantly knock Ratke down? He is the all time leading kicker in college football history!

Enjoy the ride. It is his name and JMU that will be forever in the record books. What happens after he leaves JMU is anybody's guess.

No one ever thought Nucci would be drafted. NFL sees things in players we don't, sometimes.

Go Ethan! I'm so proud of you and bringing the record to JMU.

Knocking posters' opinions down isn't the same as knocking Ratke down.

(11-22-2021 08:52 AM)DoubleDogDare Wrote:  I went to a high school game this past Friday. During halftime, kicker went 2/2 from 40, then 1/1 from 45, and 1/1 from 50, and 1/1 form 55. Lined up for a 60 and it landed about midway through endzone, "didn't hit it well" as some would say (which in reality means "kicked it as hard as he can bc he was maxed out in distance and missed the sweet spot"). Is Ratke going 5/5 hitting the 40-55 yarders doing warm-ups?

Warmups? Without a line in front, a defense in front trying to crash that line and leap up to block the kick and without any timing issues? Warmups is nice to stretch the leg out but you gotta subtract yards from that range to actual game kicks. With that said, I’ll repeat it here again, while Ethan has been great and deserves a ton of credit for his career, let’s not forget the other components that go into a successful kick that often get taken for granted. The snapper and holder have been exceptional and the blockers don’t take a play off so heavy pressure has been limited. Without any of those pieces the kicker might not stand a chance.

But you can also add a few yard for the natural adrenaline rush that a kicker most likely gets when kicking in a game. (Such as a sprinter gets when in the starting blocks)

(11-22-2021 09:46 AM)formerjmusprinter84 Wrote:  But you can also add a few yard for the natural adrenaline rush that a kicker most likely gets when kicking in a game. (Such as a sprinter gets when in the starting blocks)

And then factor in those yards lost when figuring out the trajectory needed to get over a leaping defensive unit as opposed to airing it out in pregame just to stretch the leg.

NFL teams aren’t going to waste a roster spot on a kicker who doesn’t have enough range and he can’t be your kickoff guy either. Would have to have 2 kickers on a 53 man roster. Not gonna happen.

Silly argument/discussion. Ratke is one of the best kickers in FCS history.

(11-22-2021 08:59 AM)BSKB 24 Wrote:  I can't understand the need to constantly knock Ratke down? He is the all time leading kicker in college football history!

Enjoy the ride. It is his name and JMU that will be forever in the record books. What happens after he leaves JMU is anybody's guess.

No one ever thought Nucci would be drafted. NFL sees things in players we don't, sometimes.

Go Ethan! I'm so proud of you and bringing the record to JMU.

You're completely mistaking "he's great but doesn't have the raw power for the NFL" with "knocking him down".

Look, in college, accuracy is critical, and he's easily the best kicker we've ever had. He's earned every accolade, and I'm thrilled to say my college's kicker is about to break the D-1 career scoring record.

But I've always been a kicking nerd, and I can tell you that the guys who don't even get looked at can all kick it, reliably, 10+ yards further than Ratke can. And those are the ones who don't even get a tryout.

and those NFL goal posts are more narrow...

he has been a great kicker - excited for him to win us some playoff games~!

(11-22-2021 03:46 PM)bcp_jmu Wrote:  and those NFL goal posts are more narrow...

he has been a great kicker - excited for him to win us some playoff games~!

14 feet wider in HS - but once again Radke is one of the greatest kickers in FCS history.

'nuf said

yeah..progressively tougher - NCAA goalposts are 23' apart 18′ in the NFL

Don’t understand the butt hurt from some of you. Just about anyone that has said he’s not an NFL talent has also talked about how great his career has been, how accurate he is, and been extremely positive. You’re allowed to think someone is a first ballot JMU HOF talent but also think he doesn’t have the skill set to play in the NFL. He missed a 47 yard field goal 10-15 yards short this weekend. An nfl team isn’t going into Pittsburgh, Green Bay, KC, Buffalo, etc with that limited distance. They just aren’t. Doesn’t take away from the guys accomplishments which speak for themself.

(11-22-2021 08:59 AM)BSKB 24 Wrote:  I can't understand the need to constantly knock Ratke down? He is the all time leading kicker in college football history!

Enjoy the ride. It is his name and JMU that will be forever in the record books. What happens after he leaves JMU is anybody's guess.

No one ever thought Nucci would be drafted.

Not exactly true. At least one poster here saw it.

Not saying he is an NFL kicker but anyone watch the kicking in the NFL last weekend? Brutal! Ethan just keep doing your thing for us on the Road to Frisco!


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(11-22-2021 09:22 PM)Purple Wrote:  

(11-22-2021 08:59 AM)BSKB 24 Wrote:  I can't understand the need to constantly knock Ratke down? He is the all time leading kicker in college football history!

Enjoy the ride. It is his name and JMU that will be forever in the record books. What happens after he leaves JMU is anybody's guess.

No one ever thought Nucci would be drafted.

Not exactly true. At least one poster here saw it.

I think it was you and I.

Somehow I missed this Ratke autobiographical article last year. I thought it was a good look into the fragile psyche of a kicker. Great underdog story

https://jmudukeclub.com/news/2020/10/14/...ratke.aspx

Ethan was highlighted earlier in the season by the scouting department of the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl so hopefully what he did the rest of the season (and during his JMU career) will earn him a slot on one of the teams.

http://collegiate.nflpa.com/2021/09/20/n...st-report/

Ethan to the league confirmed

Really insane he's got more points than the only kicker in the College Football Hall of Fame - I hope he gets inducted there!