Kornblue Says M Kickers Will Be OK -- Updated with audio links
I was listening to WTKA towards the end of my 4 hour drive to AA, and they had an interview with Brandon Kornblue.
He said the hardest transition from HS to college was for kickers because they get to use the "T" (a block) to kick in HS but in college they have to kick off the turf. Kornblue said it took him 1-1/2 years to figure it out.
The other big problem is that 95% of all college teams do NOT have any coaches for kickers. So, they are kind of on their own to figure out any problems. He said he thought Gibbons was having technique problems not mental. He said Gibbons did not have the best technique but always had kicked well when it counted. Broekhuizen has better technique than Gibbons with a lot of high end potential.
Kornblue also said that he had heard that both kickers were making 80% of their kicks in practice.
He said he was confident the kickers would figure it out soon.
Here is the links to the audio (part 1): http://wtka.com/index.php?fuseaction=home.podcasts_sel&id=7750
Part 2:http://wtka.com/index.php?fuseaction=home.podcasts_sel&id=7751
September 24th, 2010 at 5:42 PM ^
Did Kornblue say whether they would figure it out in the next, say, 18 hours?
September 24th, 2010 at 5:51 PM ^
I'll settle for them figuring it out within eight days. We'll get by tomorrow.
September 24th, 2010 at 5:45 PM ^
a 20% success rate in practice?
September 24th, 2010 at 5:48 PM ^
Kornblue is wrong. Kicker is one of most simple positions to switch over to. I've played and coached football over the course of the last 20 years. If you're getting scouted to be a division 1 kicker then you've been practicing without a tee. Even if you haven't practiced without a tee it is such a simple adjustment it's not even funny. The toughest position to make the transition to is offensive and defensive line, middle linebacker and quarterback. Kicker ? LMFAO
September 24th, 2010 at 5:50 PM ^
So here we have a vexing dilemma: whom to believe? Random internet guy (TheOracle6), or a former U-M placekicker (Kornblue)?
September 24th, 2010 at 5:52 PM ^
Believe the Mathlete - don't kick!
September 24th, 2010 at 6:01 PM ^
I'm inclined to agree, numbers don't lie.
September 24th, 2010 at 7:26 PM ^
kicking. There is a time and place for a FG. PATs are good practice for that time.
September 24th, 2010 at 6:30 PM ^
Ask Will Campbell. Everyone has their own opinions. Of course a kicker is going to back up his point by saying it's a hard adjustment, but it is no where near the toughest. You don't have to read defenses, you don't have to be in shape, you don't have to worry about gap assignment, getting double teamed, or anything of a tough manner. All you have to do is line up, pick a spot get a good plant foot and swing through. Hmm that's soooo tough. Gotta love these people on the internet that have never played football in their life that just take a kids word for it because he kicked for UM. Ask any coach in America what the toughest position is coming from high school to college and you will not hear kicker ONCE.
September 24th, 2010 at 6:35 PM ^
Obvoisly jmblue, you are one of the many that just believe what you read on the internet instead of actually having game knowledge of such topics. I could care less that you don't believe me, but to me you're just another guy that never played football on a high enough level to know anything about transitions from high school to college to pro. My vexing dilemma is whether or not to actually give a valid opinion anymore. I played division 1 football and am now a grad assistant. You are just another non athlete that knows everything about football from the internetZ OMG.
September 24th, 2010 at 6:44 PM ^
then transition to kicking in college? No? Then you are as qualified to talk about that process as jmblue is. Kornblue, obviously, is more qualified to talk about it than both of you.
Still living those glory days?
September 24th, 2010 at 6:52 PM ^
In high school I did. It's the most simple thing in the world for anyone with a good leg. Nice try though pal. I don't live in the glory days because I'm still a coach which is much more then you can say for yourself. I've forgotten more about football then you and jmblue will ever know.
September 24th, 2010 at 8:05 PM ^
You seem really insecure. I'm perfectly happy with my non-football coaching job.
September 24th, 2010 at 7:29 PM ^
I really don't care what you claim to have done in your life. You could be 10 years old for all I know. Your credibility is uncertain. (And why do you assume that anyone who disagrees with you has never played football? A bit insecure, are we?)
Conversely, I know for a fact that Brandon Kornblue was a placekicker here in the late '90s. His credibility is solid. I'm inclined to believe him when he speaks on this topic. And frankly, when you ridicule what he says, that makes me think less of you, not more.
September 24th, 2010 at 7:49 PM ^
I don't care what you think of me. This is a blog and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. You can trust what Kornblue says, but i'm telling you it's wrong. That's my opinion. Like I said, why don't you ask the coaches in America what they think about the toughest position to transition to? But you are too naive to understand a coaches view point. I don't assume anyone that takes a different view point from mine hasn't played football, I can just tell those who have not. Clearly you have not, please corrent me if I'm wrong, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say you didn't therefore you are more inclined to take an ex-kicker's view on a subject where of course he's going to say that kicking is the hardest transition, it's one he had to make. But he can't make that argument because he's never played any other position. He's naive to say that having only kicked. I coach, I see the kids that come from high school and get to see the transitions up front. It's not kicker and it will never be kicker. Neg me all you want but it's the obvious truth if you know the game of football.
September 24th, 2010 at 8:34 PM ^
"Neg me all you want"
Protip: you're not being negged for disagreeing with Kornblue, but the manner in which you are doing it.
September 24th, 2010 at 7:55 PM ^
"you are one of the many that just believe what you read on the internet"
If you want people to believe what you are saying on the internet, you probably shouldn't criticze them for believing things that they read on the internet.
That, and you sound like an asshole. But you don't have to believe that, I only wrote it on the internet.
September 24th, 2010 at 9:03 PM ^
Thanks for the advice! I'll have to remember that next time another mgoblogger tells me that kicking is the toughest transition from high school to college in the country. I get annoyed with users like jmblue who think they know it all simply because they have more mgopoints(which mean nothing) then another user. It's not just me. This blog treats their faithful readers like shit, so sometimes I get out of hand and dish it right back. Sorry if i've offended anyone other then jmblue.
September 24th, 2010 at 5:56 PM ^
gibbons' problems might not be mental yet, but if he misses a few more it will quickly become that way. i think we should be using him on PATs to get his confidence up.
September 24th, 2010 at 6:34 PM ^
September 24th, 2010 at 6:49 PM ^
To be fair, the hold is why he missed that.
September 24th, 2010 at 6:12 PM ^
We are collectively 1 of 5. Can we please somehow account for the four misses?
I know that the first miss was a bad snap, that led to a bad Drew Dileo hold, that led to a Gibbons miss. Big deal.
I also know that another miss was by Brookhuizen in very breezy conditions from the right hash mark. I watched that play develop and before Brookhuizen kicked it, I moaned about sending in our right-footed kicker to kick from that spot. It is very much like sending a golfer like Tom Lehman, who hooks everything, to play a dogleg right. It would have been a better spot for Gibbons.
We also had a couple of misses at Notre Dame, where the grass is notoriously long, the field had been wet pre-game, and the pressure looms large.
I am just not worrying. And I was one who posted here several times, before this season began, that our kicking game might be the biggest question mark for 2010 after watching what truly was an all-around lousy kicking exhibition in the Spring Game (no Hagerup at that time).
September 24th, 2010 at 7:31 PM ^
The bad snap/hold came on the missed PAT. That first FG miss was into a strong wind and came up short.
September 24th, 2010 at 7:35 PM ^
Congrats Oracle on your glory days. You are sooooooooo awesome. That is, if it's true.
September 24th, 2010 at 8:31 PM ^
I hope somebody, anybody, is able to do at least a pedestrian job of kicking by the MSU game. I also think that once they "crack the code," the troubles should be over. Kicking seems to be one of those situations where you miss a lot and suddenly, as if by magic, they start going through the posts. Once a kicker makes a few, he sorta forgets about the misses.
I am really hoping they don't need a kicker to decide a game until they play Iowa. There is still plenty of time.
September 24th, 2010 at 9:49 PM ^
is really easy, and both hockey and baseball players can switch to that game no prob.
September 24th, 2010 at 11:42 PM ^
I understand what he is saying I suppose, but the truth is a LARGE majority of kickers who are going to be on scholarship are kicking off of natural grass, turf, or anything other than a tee of any sort by their senior year and approach to college.
I understand where he is coming from, but I just disagree in this case. Back in his day of high school many kickers were probably using tees... I'm led to believe that just isn't the case anymore.