Morstead in Camp

[SMUfiji43]

Haven't found any report on how rookie camp went, but I did find this picture and thought people would be interested. Good Luck Thomas!

[southerncomfort]

Is that the WWNBD band on his wrist still? Good for him!

[kull]

Morstead looks to justify Saints' draft pick

METAIRIE, La. - Too bad for rookie punter Thomas Morstead the Saints aren't slated to play in England again this fall.

Morstead fancies himself a master of one of the rarest plays in American football - the dropkick - something to which the rugby-loving British can truly relate.

"My family's from England so I grew up kind of learning rugby," Morstead explained during the Saints' rookie camp this weekend. "That's kind of how I learned doing drop kicks at first, then I started kicking and punting" in America.

Morstead may never get a chance to try a dropkick in the NFL - Doug Flutie is the only one to convert one in the past six-plus decades - but one could argue that Morstead's ability to hit them helped his kicking career.

Morstead said a 60-yard dropkick he hit to win a bet during practice at Southern Methodist persuaded coaches to let him take over punting and place-kicking duties for the past three seasons.

His performance at SMU obviously impressed the Saints, who not only took him in the fifth round of the NFL draft, but traded up to get him. Draft-day trades to acquire punters are another rarity in the NFL, and Morstead described himself as "blown away" by it.

"At the same time, it's hopefully the Saints' way of showing they think highly of me and it's my job to go out and prove them right for doing so," Morstead said.

Morstead hit numerous punts in opening practices at rookie camp, booming several high and long during drills for prospective punt returners.

"You can see that he's got a live leg, certainly," Saints head coach Sean Payton said. "We're excited about the prospect. When we drafted him we felt the same way. He was a guy we spent a lot of time on researching."

Morstead, whose mother is English, was taught rugby by an uncle and cousins during childhood visits to Great Britain.

He was a soccer player at Pearland (Texas) High School. He didn't start kicking for the football team until his senior year, but got scholarship offers from several college programs, including Texas, TCU, Rice and Missouri.

At SMU, Morstead averaged around 44 yards per punt in 2006 and 2007. His average fell to 42 yards in 2008, but that was attributed in part to his effort to focus more on directional punting. Only 19 of his 59 punts were returned.

The Saints used three punters last season before settling on Glenn Pakulak, who averaged nearly 48 yards on 24 punts. Payton said he wanted competition for punter in training camp and traded up to draft the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Morstead because Saints scouts didn't believe he would remain available beyond the fifth round.

Morstead said he also would be comfortable place-kicking if New Orleans needed him to. The Saints also have had tough luck with place kickers the past two seasons, going through several, but appear to have found a keeper in Garrett Hartley, who made all 13 of his field goal tries after being acquired in the middle of last season.

During his senior season at SMU, Morstead made 11 of 15 field goals and 29 of 30 point-after attempts. While he did not handle kickoffs at SMU, Morstead said he'd be comfortable doing that as well.

He also gained 34 yards on a fake punt against Tulane last season in the Louisiana Superdome. Morstead smiled when asked if he saw himself as a threat to take off on fakes in the NFL.

"I'm kind of crazy," Morstead said. "I've told coaches before and I'll tell them again that I'm up for anything. I kind of have no fear, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm up for whatever they want to do."

That's not to say he considers himself an elusive ball carrier.

"I'm a straight-ahead guy. I don't move side-to-side too well."

Still, his primary focus will be on punting, and doing so more with brain than brawn, he said.

"You just don't want to let the team down," Morstead began. "If they say to kick it to the right side of the field and you kick it to the left, you're hurting the team. Guys are doing their jobs based on what you're supposed to be doing. It's not about hitting your ‘A' ball every time, even though you're trying to. It's just kind of doing your job and holding to those standards to which the coaches keep you on every punt."

-- Brett Martel

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/sports ... s-nfl.html

[One Trick Pony]

NIce read, too bad it's not the Cowboys! Go M stay safe and healthy.