Kicker AND Punter - Possible?
Just thinking (and you can probably guess that I have never played football - grew up in a place where football meant a round ball kicker around by guys wearing short shorts) - why does a Kicker (for Kickoffs and Field Goals) need to be someone different than a Punter. Both positions just require powerful legs and a disciplined approach...
Is there precedent of guys in College or Pro football who did both jobs well... should we be looking for such guys so as to save a scholarship spot.
February 24th, 2009 at 1:35 PM ^
I think the excellent Utah kicker from last year punts as well. I don't think it's worth it to have your kicker do both if that will hurt your special teams though--it's only 1 scholarship and I imagine it's hard to find a guy who does both well.
February 24th, 2009 at 1:36 PM ^
They are different enough that in college, one person dedicated to each is often more effective than trying to get one person to do both.
February 24th, 2009 at 1:43 PM ^
Didn't Hayden Epstein punt one year?
February 24th, 2009 at 1:58 PM ^
Finley did both punting and FGs, but that's because the other kickers we had were beyond terrible, and had demonstrated their crapitude in several games already.
February 24th, 2009 at 1:42 PM ^
Rarely does one guy do both. Most all of them CAN do both, but it's a quite different skill set. Not only that, but a lot of teams (and M has done this a lot recently) have a different kicker for a kick-offs than they do for FG's and PAT's.
February 24th, 2009 at 2:49 PM ^
if you have one guy kicking and punting, and he gets hurt....you just lost your kicker AND punter, as opposed to one or the other.
February 24th, 2009 at 3:42 PM ^
Florida State's Graham Gano, famous for his breathtaking display of inside-the-five downed punts against Wisconsin last year, won the Groza Award for best place-kicker. He is a badass at both positions
February 24th, 2009 at 4:10 PM ^
I am surprised there aren't more guys good enough to do both, given the amount of time they must have to practice while the team does football stuff. but it doesn't surprise me that most teams prefer to have one guy handling each duty.
and yeah, the timing of punting probably plays a huge factor in why a lot of guys don't do both.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:47 PM ^
It's not so much that guys can't do both, but that the "best place kicker" and "best punter" on a given team usually isn't the same person. Cornerbacks can play safety, but there are usually guys on the team who can play it better.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:54 PM ^
thats basically what I was saying. I didn't mean "do" as in "try" I meant it as in "win the starting job at".
February 24th, 2009 at 4:54 PM ^
"Special Teams, you run laps with Farmer Fran"
"SHIT!"