A Question for the Michigan Fans on this Site

Submitted by husker4life on

There's one thing that I have noticed about Michigan's team in the last 3 years (beside's the defense) and that is that you guys seem to be lacking kickers. Gibbons who kicked in the Notre Dame game was awful missing short range distances and some 30 + yarders. Is Rich Rodriguez doing something recruiting wise to find better players for the kicking game because it hasn't really been good at all. Has Michigan ever had a really strong kicker in the past that was consistent in every game? I'm not being mean I promise I'm just asking a question.

HermosaBlue

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:18 AM ^

Ali Haji-Sheikh was equally powerful, but more accurate, back in the 1980s.

He kicked in the pros for the NY Giants, IIRC.

Jay Feely still kicking in the pros, obvsly.

Remy Hamilton was pretty clutch back in the 1990s.

Who am I forgetting?  Mike Gillette, Garrett Rivas, Kicking Competency Lopata, plenty others I'm sure.

mgokev

September 21st, 2010 at 11:59 PM ^

Rivas was statistically good, I believe.  Kickers are hard to project in terms of skill, and especially when scholarships are involved.  You have to be pretty confident in the long term success of a kicker to give a scholarship.  I would expect Gibbons to be good given some time.  

03 Blue 07

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 AM ^

Kickers are usually a mixed bag. We, I think, always have at least one kicker who was a rated recruit nationally on a schollie on our roster at all times. However, scouting high school kickers is clearly an inexact science. Rivas was money. Epstein was very talented, though that miss against Purdue still grinds my gears.

Tshimanga Cowabunga

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:05 AM ^

In the last few years we have had kickers that weren't overly impressive but that got the job done. Both K.C. Lopata and Jason Olesnavage weren't flashy and didn't have big legs but made field goals pretty consistently. Gibbons was recruited as one of the better kickers in his class and just hasn't panned out yet but I haven't given up on him yet.

Before Lopata, we had Garret Rivas who was a tubby, frightening kicker but also ended up with the highest field goal percentage in Michigan football history so it hasn't been as bad as it has seemed IMHO

Leaders And Best

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:13 AM ^

After 4-year starter Garrett Rivas graduated in 2006, Michigan has just missed on their kickers on scholarship (that includes Carr's last year as coach).  Some of that falls on Carr as well as there was no quality kickers on roster when he retired.  We did have an All-American at punter in Zoltan Mesko who graduated last year and now starts for the NE Patriots.

The bigger question for Michigan fans has been that the ST coaching under Rich Rodriguez has left much to be desired and not becoming of a team aspiring to become a national championship contender again.

FGB

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:25 AM ^

"The ST coaching under Rich Rodriguez has left much to be desired."

While I would debate whether that's even a widely held opinion, either way it's purely noise obfuscating facts, like so much of the RR era.

Our place kicking was above average last year, our returns on KOs were excellent, our punt/KO coverage was fine, and our punting was excellent.   Since we can safely ignore most Special Teams data from this year given the vary small sample size, we're essentially left with punt returns from the last couple years as the only significant problem area.

Obviously we had SEVERE problems fielding punts in 2008, and some continued (though lesser) problems in this area last year..  People focus on the bad because it's more memorable than consistent average-to-good plays, like a 45 yard punt with no return, or a 30 yard Darryl Stonum return.  Stonum set a KO return record last year for god's sake. 

Punt returners fumbling catches is an issue, but it's not relevant as an indicator that our national championship hopes under RR are pipedreams.

Leaders And Best

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:52 AM ^

I don't think you can classify our ST as anything better than mediocre over the last 3 years.  The only consistent strong area has been our punting, and I put that more on the special talent of Zoltan Mesko than coaching.

As for focusing on the bad, the low points on ST have far outnumbered the high points.

jmblue

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^

Remy Hamilton was an All-American in 1994, the only time we've ever had one at PK.  Garrett Rivas was a four-year starter (2003-06) and was very accurate up to about 45-47.   Those are the two best of the last 20 years or so.  In between we've had a lot of shaky ones.

Clarence Beeks

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^

I don't think it's a Rodriguez issue.  He always had good kickers at WVU.  The problem that I have with this situation is that the realization that Gibbons wasn't going to get it done should have happened last year and the team should have moved in a different direction right away.

husker4life

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:08 AM ^

on a tv at my friends house because her boyfriend gets like every college football game on his cable and I saw that Michigan had the ball twice like on the ND 20 or 30 yard line and still couldn't get a field goal in any of the attempts and when I saw that I was like wow they must not have a good kicker at all. I can remember your Olesnavage kicker in 08 missing a nine yard field goal in the Osu game in Columbus.

Jeremy

September 22nd, 2010 at 12:08 AM ^

Rivas was great for a college kicker. People just remember his misses, which he had quite a few. He was called upon to kick way too much (the offense stalled too many times).