OT: The Plymouth High kicker
I watched much of the Michigan high school football finals on TV over the weekend. I was extremely impressed with the competitiveness of most of the games in general and with a few players in particular. First and foremost:
The Plymouth kicker (Dan Brinza???). I don't know to what extent this guy was on Michigan's radar, but holy shit did we lose out on this kid. Here's a guy who can ride his bike to Michigan's campus, a school that is so desperate for a good kicker that we were going for it on 4th and 11 on the OSU 25 in the FIRST QUARTER!!!!
Anyway, the kid hit a couple field goals in the game, but the real story was his punting! I had to rewind my DVR at one point to make sure I was not delusional. The young man lined up to punt at his 17 yard line, his foot struck the ball at the 21, and FUCKING BALL NEXT LANDED ON THE GROUND AT THE GOAL LINE!!!
79 yards on the fly people. I saw in today's paper that he averaged 55 yards on 5 punts. Why is this kid not going to Michigan? Holy shite. The day bottomed out when I saw this.
In addition: A lot of Big 10 teams, us included, may end up rueing the day they did not go harder after the Ithaca QB, Niznak, a 6-3, 225 lb farm kid who hit 22-25 passes and ran for about 4 TDS. He is going to Central Mich.
Also, there is a sophomore for GR Catholic or somebody. 6 foot, 250 pounds already, a DL who was caving in the line all day, playing like a man possessed, and even blocked a FG. Who could use a guy like that in two years?
November 28th, 2010 at 10:03 PM ^
Brindza had a Michigan offer. He's committed to Notre Dame.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:04 PM ^
No, I know he's Irish. I just can't believe he could not be persuaded to come to Michigan given the fact that our kickers can barely get the ball over the line of scrimmage and our punter missed the biggest game of the year for fucking up (granted, he's pretty good and freshmen being freshmen).
November 28th, 2010 at 10:13 PM ^
I love Catch-22.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:13 PM ^
First, IIRC Notre Dame's current PK is a senior...although Nick Tausch kicks some too doesn't he... well also he did commit before the year...and before the horror that's been this year's kicking. It's a lot harder to get a kid to switch commitments than to get a kid to commit. If he had waited longer, who knows, things might have been different. I know in the article I read about him committing, he said he was about to jump on Michigan's offer when Notre Dame's rolled in.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:22 PM ^
Yep, tragic, but I'm sure some kids get a stiffy for ND, just as Michigan has done many times for other schools. Another guy down the post has a good point about being TOO close to home.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^
That's a very good point. But ah! Here's the article to which I was referring earlier.
The 6'2, 210-lb kicker from Plymouth High was offered by Michigan, and was set to commit to the Wolverines, but then a longtime favorite stepped up to the plate.
"Notre Dame, Chuck Martin found out and decided to hop on board," Brindza said. "I was excited about the Michigan process. I felt like I was going to go to Michigan. Then Notre Dame came along. I've grown up a Notre Dame fan, my family has been Notre Dame fans
November 29th, 2010 at 2:47 PM ^
November 28th, 2010 at 10:05 PM ^
I used to be in the camp of thinking that a scholarship kicker was unnecessary. Given that both our scholarship and walk-on kicker suck, it's hard for me to decide if that opinion has changed.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:11 PM ^
Why on earth would a scholarship kicker be unnecessary?
November 28th, 2010 at 10:24 PM ^
you don't know if a highly rated kicker will pan out as a kicker in college since they have to adjust from kicking from a tee in high school to kicking off the ground in college. Brandon Gibbons and Anthony Fera were the two top rated kickers yet Gibbons is a bust as of now and Fera is a punter. Or Anthony Wright was the top rated kicker and he can't kick a FG to save his life. There are plenty of walk-on kickers who have been outstanding and saves a team a scholarship on the kicker.
Punting is easier to scout because you'd know the leg strength as well as how fast he punt(is he a two stepper or a three stepper? for example). That's why Michigan has success with Zoltan and Hagerup. Both have strong legs who can kick the ball off from the snap quickly.
November 28th, 2010 at 11:11 PM ^
Until he lost a couple of games due to missed FGs. Purdue in 1976 comes to mind.
November 29th, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^
Bobby Bowden was the same way until it cost him what, at least two national title shots? I think that was when he recruited Janikowski.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:12 PM ^
November 28th, 2010 at 10:19 PM ^
yeah he missed the most important game of the year for violating rules. good going will.....
November 28th, 2010 at 10:25 PM ^
The kid is 18 or 19 and messed up. Things happen.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:34 PM ^
i believe he's going to school for free at Michigan. in exchange for that, he kicks balls far for the football team. i dont think it's unreasonable to be unhappy that he "violated a team rule" the week of the ohio state game.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:44 PM ^
Unhappy, sure, but that last comment almost seemed unforgiving. He slipped up, it happens.
November 28th, 2010 at 11:07 PM ^
do you know what he did? i would think it would have to be a fairly significant rules violation to miss an entire game and be left in ann arbor. it's not that im unforgiving, he's a good punter, but he really cost his team by "violating team rules."
my point is that he's compensated thousands and thousands of dollars to play on the football team and he gets a great education for free. i would have loved a full scholarship to michigan. everyones attitude seems to be a shoulder shrug "kids are kids who cares" type of thing. his absence played a significant role in the game. i don't think its unreasonable to hold him accountable for his actions especially when he's receiving that kind of compensation for being on the team.
if denard robinson had violated team rules and couldn't play in the OSU game would you just say oh well kids are kids or would it upset you?
November 29th, 2010 at 7:03 AM ^
He's being held accountable by being suspended for the game.
He doesn't need to be held accountable by some random fan - he's a college student-athlete and owes you nothing.
November 29th, 2010 at 8:53 AM ^
This^^^
November 29th, 2010 at 11:55 AM ^
I didn't say he owed me anything. I said that I, as a fan and alumni of the university, have the right to be "UNHAPPY" that he failed to follow team rules and missed the most important game of the year- especially given the fact that he's given a free education at the greatest university to be on the field.
Again I pose the question, if it were Denard Robinson that missed the game for violating a team rule rather than the punter, would your reaction be the same?
November 29th, 2010 at 12:00 PM ^
Again I pose the question, if it were Denard Robinson that missed the game for violating a team rule rather than the punter, would your reaction be the same?
Honostly? Yes.
November 29th, 2010 at 12:09 PM ^
Ok, well mine would be that I would be unhappy that he missed the OSU game.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:15 PM ^
I recruited for Michigan for 5 years and can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that the Ann Arbor kids were some of the toughest for us to get.
I know that when I was in college the LAST thing I wanted was to have my parents within walking distance of my dorm. I'm sure many of the players today feel the same.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:29 PM ^
I was recruited to play baseball by 3 local school near home, but I didn't want to go to school that is that close to home. I hated the idea of going to school where it's about 5-15 minute drive away from home. I knew that baseball wasn't my future and already was accepted by Michigan as a student at the time. I knew that it was a no-brainer for me because the value of a Michigan degree is far greater than a local school degree.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:32 PM ^
November 29th, 2010 at 12:22 AM ^
November 28th, 2010 at 10:25 PM ^
Its honestly shocking to me the situation Michigan's kicking game is in. And this is nothing new. I guess I haven't been paying that much attention to kicking recruiting, but is it honestly that difficult to get competent kickers to come to Michigan?
November 28th, 2010 at 11:21 PM ^
re: the cause-and-effect relationship of the deterioration of Michigan's kicking game in football (that football) with the rise of the soccer program?
November 28th, 2010 at 11:37 PM ^
but I'm pretty sure that there is no relationship between a football team having a good kicker and a quality soccer program. Both are independent of each other. OSU has solid soccer program yet the football team always seems to field a good kicker after kicker.
November 29th, 2010 at 12:09 AM ^
They recruited one of the best HS kickers in the country and hasn't worked out as of yet. They will get someone else in. Also, once they can have another of those "QC coaches" back, maybe they can get someone to coach the kickers a little.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:28 PM ^
he single-footedly beat us.
and if youre a kicker and you get offered a ful ride to ND, chances are youre going to take it
November 28th, 2010 at 10:30 PM ^
Or so someone said.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:30 PM ^
I was at the Plymouth vs CC game, every kickoff was through the uprights, kicked a 52 yarder which ended up hitting the back of CC's track at least a good 10 yards beyond the posts. The kid could play pro right now and probably be a damn good kicker
November 28th, 2010 at 10:38 PM ^
I am a Lake Orion resident, so I was at the game. A couple of observations:
1) Yeah, Brindza is the real deal. You are noting his booming punts, but you are not stating how on kick offs he kicked one through the uprights and another one off the back wall in the air out of the back of the end zone! I know that HS kicks off from the 40, but that would still routinely put the KO's 7-8 yards deep in the end zone in college. In addition, he made a 60 yarder in warm ups and his 44 yard FG cleared the cross bar close to the top of the upright. With all that being stated, he is a ND commit, but it certainly would not hurt to try a pull out the Snake Oil for him.....
2) Breyer is good. He did not impress me with the 'OMG HE IS AWSOME!!' performance. Certainly uses his speed and agility to make plays. Rushes the passer better that being a run stopper. The best thing I can say about him is that whenever Plymouth needed to make a play, he was it. Honestly though, I think he could make a very good TE over being a DE. He made several catches and got key YACs when needed. On D, I guess he reminds me of ROH.
Take this all for what it is worth, just one fans perspective of watching them live.....
November 28th, 2010 at 10:38 PM ^
I believe his name is Green. I'll have to look him up. Anyway, I started to feel sorry for the center from Oliver because Green was knocking the kid on his butt all game.
November 29th, 2010 at 4:18 PM ^
That would be Olivet, not Oliver and that kid weighs 70lbs less than he does. Olivet shot themselves in the foot early on in that game and never could get back into it.
November 28th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^
The kicker you speak of is not a good fit at Michigan. First off, if you watched closely, he wasnt able to keep the ball below 7 feet high after it had traveled 7 yards. Making it much to hard for any fat lard D-lineman to block it. Secondly, the ball traveled through the uprights. It is my understanding that Bill Martin signed a deal with Allstate before he left. It states that Michigan gets $1,000 for every field goal that doesnt interfere with the general viewing of the Allstate logo. How else did everyone expect the athletic department to pay off all the money RichRod cost them when he left West Virgina?
Truthfully though, I havent seen a UM field goal attempt in about 6 years. I usually leave and go to the kitchen to squirt hot sause in my eye. Its less painfull then watching the UM kicker's walk of shame back to the sideline.
November 29th, 2010 at 12:12 AM ^
but your Allstate line killed me. That being said, Garett Rivas was rock-solid in '06.
November 29th, 2010 at 12:32 AM ^
but I miss Garrett Rivas. wow, I got to get a mouthwash and wash my mouth out.
November 29th, 2010 at 12:43 AM ^
Was there something wrong with Rivas? I always liked his reliability; I thought he set the career points record? And while I'm not Catholic, I thought him crossing himself before each kick was a very cool ritual.
November 29th, 2010 at 3:54 AM ^
November 29th, 2010 at 4:17 AM ^
in his freshman year, Rivas would miss FGs left and right early on in his career. That's why the student section cross their fingers because they hope that he would make it and cheer loudly when he does. It has been a ritual for the students because Rivas has been rock solid ever since his rough start in his freshman year. Rivas had learned from it and has gotten better.
Rivas case study has sort of give me hope that Gibbons can get better. Gibbons needs to have his confidence back and go to a kicking coach(I think it's Kornblue or whatever his name is) to fix his mechanics.
November 29th, 2010 at 4:52 AM ^
November 28th, 2010 at 11:18 PM ^
November 28th, 2010 at 11:22 PM ^
Niznak looks like the real deal, pumped to see him at Central. I'm worried that a bigger program might see his playoff run and take a chance on him.
November 29th, 2010 at 12:02 AM ^
This guy looked good against Lowell:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Aaron-Burbridge…
Undersized, but very fast. Looks like he's on Michigan's radar. To my eye, he was the best player on the field in the Lowell-Harrison game.
November 29th, 2010 at 12:51 AM ^
on Michigan's radar.
November 29th, 2010 at 12:44 AM ^
When looking at a kicker, coaches should value a guy who's played soccer much more than one who's just kicked off a tee his entire life. It's not an automatic correlation, but think of the number of kickers and punters in the NFL that are of direct European or Australian/New Zealand descent (i.e. Zoltan). Those guys all played soccer/rugby/Australian Rules football at some point. That just seems like a no brainer to me. It's natural for those guys to kick off the ground (the soccer players; rugby and Aussie rules would really only help punters). I just don't see how you can trust a kicker who has to do something he's never done before once he gets to college. Maybe if you have three years to train him before he's put in a game, but that's not a luxury Michigan has.
November 29th, 2010 at 1:05 AM ^
Michigan's coaches have searched far and wide for kickers, fellas. They need a kicker, and they're doing the best they can to get the situation rectified. The problem is, both Seth and even Brendan, kick well at practice but bomb it at games. There is nothing you can do to fix that. It's on the kicker.
If RR and co. are still around next year, they will surely offer a kicker. They are already in with some of the top kickers in the midwest, and as we've seen, if they usually want a kicker or punter, they get them.