ESU has no answers for kicking game
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
When Andre Sloan El played poorly against Augustana, coach Garin Higgins went to his backup. When receiver Danny McEvoy had an untimely false start late in the game on Saturday, Higgins put in his backup.
But when Will Maxwell had an extra point and field goal blocked — partly his fault — Higgins couldn’t go to Maxwell’s backup for the game-tying kick with three seconds left in the game Saturday, because Maxwell has no backup.
Maxwell’s misses cost the Hornets a chance to beat 13th-ranked Central Missouri, a win that would have been the biggest of the Higgins era.
Higgins did the smart thing and told Maxwell that there were a lot of plays in the game and he alone was not to blame. But the truth is, if Maxwell makes all his kick against the Mules, the Hornets most likely win.
In a perfect world, Maxwell would be held accountable for his misses and, like Sloan El and McEvoy, he would find a seat on the bench. Higgins and his staff deserve part of the blame for the fact that they don’t have a backup, but I’m going to give them a free pass. They planned on being prepared.
When last year’s place kicker Matt Perry quit football after the season, the Hornets brought in Kilgore Junior College transfer Rico Casas.
Casas was an all-conference kicker at Kilgore and would have been an upgrade, but he got homesick before the season and moved back to Texas.
Casas is not the first kicker that’s spurned the Hornets. Former Chase County High School All-State kicker Grady Fowler signed with ESU and then decided to go to Butler Community College in 2007.
The Hornets also planned to have Emad Moqbel around for his senior season to back up Maxwell. But Moqbel ran out of eligibility when he took one credit hour too many in the spring.
So Higgins and his staff’s hands are tied when it comes to the kicking game, which has been a problem each of the last three seasons. In 2007, ESU kickers made just 3-of-9 field goals and 15-of-18 PATs. Last season, Perry and Maxwell combined to make 5-of-8 field goals and 22-of-28 PATs. So far this year, Maxwell is 8-for-11 on PATs and 0-for-2 on field goals.
The Hornets could start going for two on every touchdown — they are 2-for-2 so far this season. By doing so, Higgins would be telling Maxwell he has absolutely no faith in him, but maybe he needs that. Benching Sloan El seemed to work. Maybe going for two, which would be a slap in the face to Maxwell, is what will get him going. If anything, it could result in more points for the Hornets.
Higgins admitted that he will start thinking twice about kicking field goals. He did go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 14 against the Mules.
Higgins was adamant on Monday that he’s standing behind Maxwell and believes in him.
“We’ve let Will know we have confidence in him,” Higgins said. “He’s got a strong leg and he’s got some ability. He’ll get his opportunity again and hopefully make the best of his opportunity.”
The truth is Higgins has no other choice.
So how can the coaches help Maxwell bust out of his slump?
The one area that they can influence is working with Maxwell to get his timing down. The acceptable amount of time to pass from snap to kick is 1.3 seconds, but Maxwell has consistently taken too much time.
The other thing special team’s coach Matt Walter said Maxwell needs to change is his leg speed. Every time Maxwell kicks an extra point or field goal, he tries to boot it to Topeka. Maxwell needs to slow his leg down and worry more about accuracy than distance.
It’s clear that Maxwell has the leg strength. His kickoffs all reach at least the 5-yard line. His problems, even with his slow approach, is mental.
Higgins compared kicking to a golf swing. When you start thinking too much about your golf swing, you’re going to have problems.
The most difficult thing about golf is repetition and it’s the same thing with kicking. Maxwell needs to clear his mind, slow down his leg and just focus on kicking the ball.
Unfortunately for the Hornets, Maxwell’s going to have to learn his lessons on the field unless a kicker somehow falls from the sky. History is not on their side there.
hornetfan00 (anonymous) says...
high schools that have a kicker defiency recruit from the soccer team.....any ESU ex-high school soccer players out there?
September 16, 2009 at 10:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
verner3 (anonymous) says...
The coach should of learned from last year that El isn't a team player & why do we have one wide receiver that did not have a pass thrown to him the entire game? Is this a plan?
September 16, 2009 at 6:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
beth (anonymous) says...
So Sloan El gets benched and then comes in and has his best game as a Hornet and some one gets on a story about the kicking game to complain about the QB play. And if you will look at the stats eight different guys caught passes, four of them wide receivers so I'm not sure who the one wide receiver was "that did not have a pass thrown to him the entire game"?
September 16, 2009 at 8:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tulsa49 (anonymous) says...
Matt Perry did not quit football. He chose not to play this season at ESU.
September 21, 2009 at 10:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
PoolMonitor17 (anonymous) says...
Hey hornetfan00 thats a good idea but i dont think anyone wants to kick behind the line that they have.I believe that it is one of the main problems of the kicking game. You have to be able to provide sufficient blocking for your kickers to be able to get the ball off between 1.2 and 1.4 second but should be closer towards 1.2. To tell you the truth no one at emporia state knows anything about kicking so get off of Wills back. You also need to look at that both Maxwell and Perry were freshman last year and went through growing pains. Matt Perry also chose to leave Emporia State. He didnt quit contrary to what you guys believe
September 21, 2009 at 1:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )