What is going on with Gibbons?

Submitted by MGoGolf on

Seems like Seth has not found his kicking game, and Gibbons only had a few games before he was pulled.  Shouldn't we give hime another chance? - what is going on in practice with him?

Michigasling

November 15th, 2010 at 12:31 PM ^

they reported that the weather was far worse than it appeared on TV, that not only was it pouring but terribly windy.  So even more kudos for the success of the punts, no matter how ugly. 

PS: Now that the soccer team won the Big Ten championship, do you think the guys will have any free time to help out with the kicking?

Sambojangles

November 15th, 2010 at 2:07 PM ^

Seriously? Who are you to tell Justin Meram what sport to play? I'm assuming he loves soccer much more than football, and is enjoying being an important part of the Big Ten Champion soccer team.

Plus, there's no guarantee he would be any less frustrating than Broekhuizen/Gibbons. I don't think he was the clear winner coming out of camp.

REDvsBLUE

November 15th, 2010 at 1:04 PM ^

and yea the weather was terrible, much worse than on tv when i watched afterwards.  it was downpouring at times and it was gusting winds like 15-25 mph.  as much as i'd like to blame the weather on our offensive troubles some blame still falls on the team.  all in all wins a win

MH20

November 15th, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^

I think someone had commented on the camera placements at Purdue being quite shitty.  I cannot recall if this was in a thread or the liveblog, but I'm pretty sure it was mentioned that Purdue offers rather lousy options for camera placement.

Or, I could totally be making this up.

jerseyblue

November 15th, 2010 at 11:57 AM ^

The fact that the coaches are biting the bulett and recruiting kickers this year says it all. Next year either Dan Grochowski or Michael Branthover will be our kicker. With Matt Goudis as a darkhorse candiate.

eth2

November 15th, 2010 at 12:02 PM ^

Recall that Gibbons is not a walk-on.   He is a scholarship guy who graded highly (from ESPN):

Gibbons is a very consistent place kicker. He gets into his field goals quickly and has smooth tempo. Powerful leg and has kicked several field goals over 40 yards including a 52 yarder. Kickoffs average about 5 yards deep with good hang of about 4.0 seconds. Footwork isn't quite as fluid as field goals. Punting is above average and is solid under the rush. His drop, leg extension, and steps need worked on as a punter; but is a very good place kicker and kickoff man.

Also most college programs including Michigan don't have a coach who specializes in kicking or punting, so these guys are largely on their own, i.e., they don't get "coached up" on the fundamentals.

So we have a player who came in highly rated, redshirted his freshman year, started and subsequently struggled this year before being replaced by the now two-headed kicker (Broekhuizen / Hagerup).

So any real information or reasonable speculation on how this plays out?   Knowing that kicking issues are often psychological in nature, I would hope he could work on this over the off season and come back ready to contribute solidly next year.   Either way, as has been repeatedly stated on this board and elsewhere, we should recruit another kicker.

evenyoubrutus

November 15th, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^

Why don't you try booting a football through uprights in front of 110,000 as a 19-year-old and see how easy it is?  Some people just can't handle 220,000 eyes watching them.  I know I couldn't.