Punt Returns

C N Red

C N Red

All-American
I'm not completely sold on Westerkamp being our returner. I love the fact he is pretty reliable catching the punt, but is only okay running after the catch from what I've seen. Yes, I know, many times he doesn't really have anywhere to run, but even when he does it seems he takes a little while to get going. He doesn't have that immediate speed, that quickness right after the catch. Hoping in the future we can find some guy who can be reliable at catching the ball and has that quick first move and gets to top speed in a hurry.

 
GSG5545 said:
Who would you put back there based on what you've seen?
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That's just it, I don't know. But I haven't seen practice either so I'm guessing there isn't anyone else the coaches trust apparently.

Ameer would be my first choice, but that probably won't happen. Bell would be another choice, but probably not going to happen either.

As mentioned above by someone, this might be the game we need to do everything we can to get the best possible field position possible and that might mean putting back guys we wouldn't normally b/c we are worried about them getting injured.

Maybe I'm just not seeing things right. Does Westerkamp have that quickness and I'm just not seeing it??

 
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C N Red said:
GSG5545 said:
Who would you put back there based on what you've seen?
Click to expand...
That's just it, I don't know. But I haven't seen practice either so I'm guessing there isn't anyone else the coaches trust apparently.

Ameer would be my first choice, but that won't and probably shouldn't happen. Bell would be another choice, but probably not going to happen either.

Maybe I'm just not seeing things right. Does he have that quickness and I'm just not seeing it??
Click to expand...
I don't know if he does either. I watched Sammy Watkins catch a screen last night, standing still, and he was at full speed in maybe 3 strides. I don't think Westerkamp (or most players in the country) are going to be like that, but I get what you're saying. I think he's serviceable, but I feel that a lot of it comes down to the blocking. He rarely even gets to take a full stride without a guy being on him immediately.

 
Westy had one really nice return against Michigan. Broke 2 or 3 tackles and got 17 yards.

I like him back there. I know he dropped the one but fielding punts is more important than a great return. You just don't get many chances to get a good return in college. Either their punter is not very good or they're close enough to the goal line that it's a high coverage kick. Just catch the ball, get what you can and put the offense on the field.

IMO

 
I'll take reliability. Westerkamp seriously has no where to go. Our punt blocking sucks. Which I'm pretty sure is by design, as Bo is always worried about the fake.

But according to the big red breakfast quotes, it sounds like you might get your wish as westerkamp is banged up.

 
I like Westy back there, he seems to be pretty sure handed. Minus that full yolo fumble against Michigan.

 
At this point they just don't want us to drop punts and Westy seems to be the best option. I would hope by next year we could get soemone back there who can take it yard

 
GSG5545 said:
What about someone like Alonzo Moore? Did he do any returns in high school?
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Thought about him too, but I have a feeling he might not be very reliable in the catching aspect. I don't know this, just have a feeling after seeing him having some troubles catching passes. Truthfully, it's really almost something you have to start out doing in High School to understand what it takes. It's not an easy talent to learn for the first time in college when bullets are flying.

 
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