Congratulations Ryan Mentzel

[PonyGirl]

You are the starting punter from the day you set foot on campus in August. Whoever that was out there Saturday -- and we all appreciate the walk-ons who strap it on and work hard in spring ball -- shanked one punt after another, alternating between low dribblers that rolled out of bounds to longer punts that never got 20 feet off the ground - meaning he outkicked his coverage. It got to the point where in order for Comet and the guys to practice fielding the punts, the center snapped the ball to the punter, and an assistant coach threw the thing downfield. Not a real vote of confidence from the coaches.
So Ryan, get yourself in shape for the fall - you've got a job to do.

[Guest]

If only by default, Mentzel has to be the best we've had since football returned in 1989

[braginator]

With respect to this obviously talented punter, hear he is talented yet I tink we are getting a little ahead of ourselves here without ever seeing him in a college game. From what I have heard Ryan is a good punter, but from people who actually played against him in high school many described him as very average with the ability to kick a bomb every so often. But I also want to add that I support Ryan and hope he is as good as others think, especially with all of this added pressure that seems to be coming quite early for a true freshman next year.

[ponytalk]

Anything is better than what we saw at the scrimmage. Very average is VERY AWESOME compared to Saturday's performance.

[braginator]

Ponytalk how many times have you seen the punter from saturday actually punt? Since I have been to every practice I can also testify to the fact he is an awesome punter and you are judging him on one day (in which it wa raining, windy, and cold). And since you were at the scrimmage did you notice thta before punting the ounter was on the sideline for more than an hour wihtout any notice to warm up, or that he did not get one decent snap (which was the result of having no dry kicking ball to give the snapper, because the new nike balls are not used by the punters or kicker for now).

[WildHorse]

Braginator, maybe we were at different scrimmages. From what I saw, he had one bad snap, that last one that sailed over his head. There were several that hit him directly between the numbers.

I agree that the weather conditions were not exactly conduscive to excellent punting. But he looked like a linebacker (or maybe a point guard?) trying to punt. I have never seen a college punter whose follow-through doesn't even bring his kicking foot as high as his waist after making contact with the ball. And while my watch is not the most exact timepiece on earth, I was trying to time him - he was taking 2.5-3 seconds to get rid of the ball. At that rate, he'll get most of his punts blocked. In addition, he has his head down from the second he catches the ball until after he kicks. You need to keep your eyes on the ball, of course, but that's another reason you see great punters holding the ball up, around eye-level, and then following through with a motion that allows them to hit the ball somewhere around the middle of their chest, allowing for more foot speed and a better trajectory. This guy was hitting the ball about knee-high ... hence the low line-drives that would be smacked back at him by the other team, or run back a long way if he did manage to get them away.

We all appreciate this kid's (by the way, who is he?) hard work and effort. But he doesn't look like the answer.

[braginator]

His name is Dane and he is a transefer. And in practices, which as I don't miss, Dane gets rid of the ball in 2.1, which needs to improve but anywhere between 1.8 and 2.0 is what coaches look for out of a punter. Also you should clock just the time from the snapper's start unitl it gets to Dane, you would be shocked at how slow that actually was on Sat. (it is not just the punter's fault).

[WildHorse]

Good point about the snapper. (Who's doing that, now that Randle is gone?)
It's not entirely the punter's fault. Thanks for pointing that out.

[braginator]

Kieschnick and Chandler have been the two snappers thus far, and this kid from Highland Park coming in next year is also supposed to be extremely talented.

[ponytalk]

I have seen more than you would think. I also will say that maybe it is me that is causing the problem. Perhaps I jinks you every time I come out there because Coach Woods can throw a lot further and better form than the punts I have seen.

Anyway. We will see. I will put my money on the fish coming in.