Justin Meram - Can he kick in the Gator Bowl?
December 11th, 2010 at 12:09 PM ^
I thought he was one of the best kickers (if not the best) during the spring game. I would love for him to kick in the Gator Bowl, but I would also understand if he wanted to focus his time on preparing for the MLS Draft.
Video for those who want to see him kicking a football: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haRvdLkF0b0
December 11th, 2010 at 5:43 PM ^
Just put him in and let him kick, no one pays attention to the kicker.
December 12th, 2010 at 2:17 PM ^
It's not cheating. He's allowed to join the team if he wants.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:09 PM ^
he has one year of eligibility left (like Paulus did) as long as he doesn't play soccer... but he's leaving for the pro's... as far as the Gator Bowl goes, I have no idea, calling Magnus & Tom VH
December 11th, 2010 at 12:12 PM ^
Can he kick with opposing players rushing him?
Can he kick in weather?
Can he kick under pressure?
Can he kick without a tee?
December 11th, 2010 at 12:17 PM ^
At 4-13 on the year, none of our current kickers can do any of things you listed.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:26 PM ^
I'm gonna assume he was kicking without a tee during spring practice. So that's an affirmative on question number four
December 11th, 2010 at 5:03 PM ^
It's been a while since I last played soccer. Pretty sure they dont use a tee in that sport either but I could be wrong.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:26 PM ^
What have we got to lose?.. Worst case scenario, he can't, and then we're in the same situation, best case scenario he can, and then we actually have a choice to make on 4th down.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:55 PM ^
Kick with opposing players rushing him? Like all the time!
Kick in weather? I've watched soccer played in rain and snow.
Kick under pressure? In a game where one goal can mean everything, I think so.
Kick without a tee? I've never seen a soccer player use a tee. Have you?
I don't know if Meram could reliably kick a 45 yard field goal but if he can't it won't be for the four reasons you state.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:24 PM ^
You know what he meant. He meant "kick a football with opposing players rushing him" and "kick a football under pressure."
There is a difference between doing all the things you mentioned above, when it's the sport you've played all of your life, and doing it with a very different sized ball in a completely different situation than he's ever been in. Don't pretend like every kid who can kick a soccer ball well can also kick field goals in a pressure situation. Hell, Brandon Gibbons was an All-American kicking footballs in high school and he can't do it.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:25 PM ^
What other reasons are there besides being able to deal with the mental and physical factors?
December 11th, 2010 at 5:14 PM ^
we're 7-5. What pressure?
December 11th, 2010 at 12:16 PM ^
A question:
NFL kickers with 50 yard range are making NFL league minimum $325 000 and up....even the most elite MLS players not named Beckham are generally lower than that number. This begs the question: why not look at NFL money, career longevity etc.?
December 11th, 2010 at 12:23 PM ^
December 11th, 2010 at 12:28 PM ^
Do you mean to tell me that there is a red blooded American out there that prefers soccer over football? I don't believe it. Then you tell me he wants to do what he loves rather than making that sweet cash.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:38 PM ^
Spot on. if the kid wanted to play football, he'd have played football.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:09 PM ^
there are significantly more professional soccer players then NFL kickers.
December 11th, 2010 at 5:20 PM ^
I'm so sure that was his thought proccess.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:20 PM ^
Everyone sells out sooner or later, he'll probably kick himself (pun intended) later on for at least not giving it a shot.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:26 PM ^
$ =/= happiness.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:33 PM ^
In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women.
- Homer J Simpson
December 11th, 2010 at 5:05 PM ^
$ != happiness
or
$ <> happiness
=/= is not a thing.
December 11th, 2010 at 5:28 PM ^
You learn something new every day. Just seems odd that the thing that actually looks like "not equal to" is wrong.
December 11th, 2010 at 11:55 PM ^
≠ is a thing, but you have to pull it from the character map to use it. It's ALT-2260 if you're interested in using it going forward.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^
Also, while he may be better than our current kickers, that's a long, long way from guaranteeing a long NFL career.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:29 PM ^
name is Sebastian Janikowski and you try out for a team like the Raiders you can get drafted in the first round and get more than that.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:47 PM ^
Yeah, but there are only 32 NFL kickers, not many teams have more than one. Most of those 32 can not only make 50 yarders on the reg, but they are used to doing it in pads, with 300 pounders running at them and so on.
Also, the good ones kick forever, I'm pretty sure Jason Hanson has been the kicker for the Lions since before the merger. Realistically, 3 or 4 teams are looking for a new kicker each year, and there are more than 3 to 4 college seniors who can kick long and accurate field goals. It's not as easy as saying, "hey, I played soccer, I'll have my $325,000 now, thank you."
December 11th, 2010 at 2:12 PM ^
Phil Dawson has kicked for the Browns since approximately 1953...I think Otto Graham was his first holder, and Marion Motley the long snapper...
December 11th, 2010 at 1:18 PM ^
we don't know if this kid would be a good college kicker, let alone the NFL. if he's a shoe-in for pro soccer, he would be foolish not to do so.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:32 PM ^
That is some pretty impressive kicking. It'd be nice if he uses that year of eligibility on the football team.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^
I don't see why he wouldn't be able to kick for UM in the bowl game. That is, if UM has a scholarship to give on this year's team. Football is a head count sport, so his scholarship would be put on football for this year. Being that he wants to play soccer, coming along for one game likely isn't going to hurt his future in soccer. If he wants to kick for UM in 2011, he wouldn't be able to participate in the bowl game.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:50 PM ^
So can't he just walk onto the football team without counting against its scholarship numbers?
December 11th, 2010 at 1:07 PM ^
Football is a head count sport. If you are on scholarship and play football, soccer, basketball, baseball, etc..., the scholarship is coming from the football team.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:22 PM ^
No. This is why schools like Miami have been offering track scholarship to kids they still want to be on the football team.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:26 PM ^
No. It is a way to get around the 25 football scholarships per class rule. It does not help you with the team scholarship limit.
December 12th, 2010 at 2:23 PM ^
It's not a way around it. If you accept a scholarship to play any sport other than football, you can't play football until your junior year.
December 12th, 2010 at 2:45 PM ^
Don't be fooled though, I still hate you.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:28 PM ^
When they do that, those kids need to gray shirt. You can't offer a kid a scholarship to another sport and have him play on your football team, otherwise every single school would do it. You don't think we'd switch Denard's scholarship to the track team, or any of the other guys who run track, if we could do that?
If there was that obvious of a loop-hole, Miami wouldn't be the only team doing it, trust me.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:36 PM ^
I stand corrected. So, were we not at the 85-limit during the season? If we were, then how could we have added a kicker during the open tryouts, or now with Meram?
December 11th, 2010 at 3:08 PM ^
For the open tryouts, the presumption is that a student body walk-on would not be on scholarship. But no, we're not at the 85 scholarship limit. Remember in February when we had DBs? A lot of them had scholarships.
December 11th, 2010 at 4:04 PM ^
Rich Rod loves walk-ons (because he was one himself) and gives them scholarships whenever one is available. There's been some discussion of this in the past, and I don't think it's publicized which walk-ons get a scholarship in a given year. But I would assume he would have used up most, and possibly all, scholarships made available by people leaving the team as rewards to walk-ons.
December 12th, 2010 at 7:13 AM ^
Thanks for the answer.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^
We won't be attempting any FG's in the Gator Bowl anyway. Broekhuizen and Gibbons are perfectly capable of kicking 6-10 extra points in that game. If we're in FG range we're going for it anyway. Damn the Field Goal Kickers, full speed ahead!
December 11th, 2010 at 1:24 PM ^
Umm... despite your fondest hopes, there's no way Meram is going to have anything to do with the football team. He'll be heading to Florida in January, but not to Jacksonville -- instead he'll be in Fort Lauderdale at the MLS combine: http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2010/12/list-of-college-seniors-invited-to-mls-combine-unveiled.html
During his liveblog of last night's game, Ives Galarcep said he thought Meram had moved into the pole position as the #1 striker prospect in the senior class... meaning Meram has a good shot at being drafted in the first or second round of the MLS draft. Meram may not make serious coin right out of the box (particularly compared to the Generation Adidas underclassmen draftees), but he'll do okay for himself financially paying futbol.